Summary

Turmeric is a spice, widely used as food ingredient reduce the mutagenic/carcinogenic burden of leukemogenic risk factors such as radiation, pollutants [benzo(a)pyrene and dimethlylbenz(a)anthracene], bidi and cigarette smoke condensates and recently identified possible risk factors such as N-nitoso compounds, cured, broiled and precessed meat mutagens/carcinogens. Curcumin, the major component of turmeric, also selectively and irreversibly inhibit the proliferation of P388 drug-sensitive and drug-resistant mouse leukemia cells, human chronic myeloid leukemia cells and Jurkat T-cell leukemia cells