Turmeric, the ubiquitous spice found in Indian kitchens, not only lowers your chances of getting cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, but may reduce the size of a haemorrhagic stroke, U.S. researchers have discovered.

Scientists at the U.S.-based Medical College of Georgia are using animal models to study effects of turmeric or curcumin on intracerebral haemorrhages.

Patients with this type of stroke are often treated for symptoms such as headache and nausea with medications, but not the stroke itself.

Invasive surgery to remove the clot is usually needed, but some patients may not be good candidates, said Jay McCracken, who along with Krishnan Dhandapani, neuroscientist in the M.C.G. School of Medicine, are leading the research.

“We found that curcumin significantly decreases the size of a blood clot, but we’re not sure why it happens,” McCracken said adding that it may be because curcumin is a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant.

For the study, scientists dissolved turmeric powder in corn oil and injected it into the abdomen of an animal model of haemorrhagic stroke three times over three hours.

Timing is critical for patients who often do not know they have had a stroke and may not be seen by a physician for several hours.

“Usually, patients can experience other symptoms like seizures, vision or cognitive problems, so they come to the (emergency room) fairly quickly under most circumstances,” Dhandapani said.

“Many patients also arrive due to head trauma and are seen within an hour or so. However, treating these injuries, even after an hour, can be tricky,” he said.

Patients will likely need to get curcumin intravenously.  The researchers believe it may also help prevent strokes; they intend to pursue this line of study with the idea of also making it available in a concentrated tablet form for those at risk.