Turmeric

Research corpus coverage

Chemistry notes

• CHEMISTRY: Relevant reported constituents include curcuminoids; turmerones; constituent presence alone does not establish clinical efficacy.

Traditional / historical use

Documented traditional use — not a claim of established efficacy.

• TRADITIONAL: Turmeric has been used for inflammation; digestive complaints; skin disorders; this records historical/traditional use and does not establish efficacy.

  MODERATE · evidence synthesis/fact sheet · NCCIH Herbs at a Glance

Modern evidence

• EVIDENCE: For the major use set (inflammation; digestive complaints; skin disorders), the evidence assessment is limited/mixed: Limited/mixed meta-analyses for osteoarthritis; bioavailability and formulation heterogeneity limit inference.

  MODERATE · systematic review/meta-analysis · NCCIH Herbs at a Glance

  Mixed findings, product heterogeneity, or indirect evidence are preserved in the detailed profile.

Forms used traditionally

A listed form does not imply it suits every plant part, or that one preparation is interchangeable with another — see the plant’s own notes below.

Cats & dogs

• High risk

  Ground turmeric spice preparations have been reported to be fraudulent and/or contaminated with lead, creating a product-quality toxicity concern.

  Contamination · ORAL · ground turmeric spice · MODERATE · veterinary_manual · Herbal Medicine in Veterinary Patients - Therapeutics

• Caution

  High doses of turmeric may cause diarrhea, flatulence, bloating, headache, or nausea; turmeric may also increase bleeding risk when combined with NSAIDs.

  Interaction · OTHER · turmeric product · MODERATE · veterinary_manual · Herbal Medicine in Veterinary Patients - Therapeutics

Additional safety notes (general, unstructured)

Free-text safety notes carried from their source — not broken out by species, route, or hazard type, and not equivalent to the structured records above. Each note names the kind of source it came from.

• SAFETY: Major issues include GI upset; gallbladder stimulation; rare clinically apparent liver injury, especially enhanced-bioavailability products. Contraindications/cautions include Biliary obstruction or gallstones; liver disease caution.

  HIGH · observational/case series and expert review · LiverTox: Herbal and Dietary Supplements

• SAFETY: Clinically relevant interaction concerns include Potential additive anticoagulant and glucose-lowering effects; piperine formulations may alter drug exposure.

  MODERATE · observational/case series and expert review · LiverTox: Herbal and Dietary Supplements

  Some interactions are theoretical or based on case reports/pharmacokinetics rather than outcome trials.

• SAFETY: Pregnancy/lactation reference: Insufficient medicinal-dose pregnancy/lactation safety data.

  MODERATE · regulatory monograph or evidence synthesis · NCCIH Herbs at a Glance

  Absence of evidence is not evidence of safety.

• Ground turmeric spice preparations have been reported to be fraudulent and/or contaminated with lead, creating a product-quality toxicity concern.

  MODERATE · veterinary_manual · Herbal Medicine in Veterinary Patients - Therapeutics

  The concern applies to contaminated or fraudulent preparations rather than necessarily to authentic turmeric.

• High doses of turmeric may cause diarrhea, flatulence, bloating, headache, or nausea; turmeric may also increase bleeding risk when combined with NSAIDs.

  MODERATE · veterinary_manual · Herbal Medicine in Veterinary Patients - Therapeutics

  Species and route were not specified; curcumin was named as a studied constituent, not explicitly as a toxic constituent.

Taxonomic identity note

• Turmeric is treated here as Curcuma longa L. in the family Zingiberaceae; recorded older names include Curcuma domestica Valeton.