From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2005-07-12 19:11:32 UTC
Subject: this may result in meds of future interest
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <7596483.1121195492074.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
I have a question which derives from this: how many of the inexpensive cat foods twenty years ago were colored with turmeric? That was the only type of food around back then and I recall it in the ingredients of at least one type of food then. There were fewer malignancies seen then, but of course, there was less medical knowledge then, and also the KIT oncogene had not be selectively bred for so much that it is far more common these days than in the past decades in the U.S.
Turmeric is something I looked into as a possible gentle anticoagulant for a ferret who was throwing thromboses, but the curcumin in it is also under study as a *possible* way to reduce blood sugar levels so it was counter-indicated for her.
It will be interesting to see if the blood sugar work pans out or not. If it does then it may still be fine for ferrets with diabetes or perhaps at lower levels for those who are unlikely to have blood glucose problems *if* the on-going work continues to be suggestive or even promising. For now it probably still makes a lot of sense to use caution with ferrets till more is known. EITHER too much blood sugar lessening, or too much of an anticoagulant effect could be dangerous for ferrets.
(BTW, there is also an on-going Alzheimers treatment study involving the compound.)
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-07/uotm-psw071105.php