Introduction: Curcuma xanthorrhiza, also known as Temulawak, is traditionally used in Indonesian Jamu medicine to treat a number of health conditions including hepatitis, liver disorders, rheumatism, and skin inflammation. In addition to curcumin, Temulawak also contains bioactive oils, the most abundant is xanthorrhizol which is unique to this species. The aim of this study was to develop a range of clinically proven anti-inflammatory products based on standardized extracts of Temulawak with source to patient controlled cultivation, that aligned to the traditional usage of the plant in Jamu medicine and that could deliver medically relevant benefits to patients for the treatment and prevention of diseases.
Materials and Methods: i)Extraction methodology trials using various solvents to determine relative yields of curcuminoids and volatile oil based compounds. ii) Formulation and bioavailability studies to examine the plasma concentrations of key bioactive compounds. iii) Human clinical trial to determine the safety profile and whole genome effects of Temulawak on mRNA expression.
Results and Conclusion: We have optimized the cultivation and extraction method of the two key active constituents of Temulawak enabling the production of a standardized extract with characteristics suitable for a solid dose formulation. In a first of its kind study we evaluated the safety profile of the standardized extract in 32 healthy subjects and examined the full human genome mRNA expression patterns in peripheral blood. We identified a large number of pathways associated with inflammation and innate immune signaling that were significantly modified after Temulawak treatment. We also demonstrated that curcuminoid and xanthorrhizol separately showed anti-inflammatory activity in cell models of inflammation. The Temulawak formulation has been optimized to improve bioavailability of both xanthorrhizol and curcumin and preclinical studies are now underway to evaluate the efficacy on selected models of inflammatory diseases