Replies to post #161493 on Biotech Values

[biomaven0]

extracts (e.g. of curcumin) have been robbed of much of their nutritional value through the processing?

I have no idea, and I doubt anyone else knows for sure either. There are simply no controls on how supplements get processed and manufactured, and there is no money to do proper trials.

Curcumin incidentally needs to be taken with piperine (from black pepper) to be absorbed. So maybe it's no coincidence that curries have both curcumin and black pepper as notable ingredients.

A (possibly) informative example of the manufacturing issues comes from glucosamine trials. Studies (for knee osteoarthritis) that have used the product made by Rotta have tended to be successful, while those using products made by other manufacturers have tended to show no benefit. Could be statistical fluke, could be some other aspect of the trial designs, or could reflect a difference in manufacturing.

Peter