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Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 7, 389 (1 May 2008) | doi:10.1038/nrd2576

Cardiovascular disease: Spice might protect the heart

Sarah Crunkhorn

The heart has the ability to adapt to increased stress by undergoing hypertrophy, but if sustained, heart failure may ensue. Now, two studies in the Journal of Clinical Investigation show that the dietary compound curcumin can block such hypertrophy through the inhibition of p300-histone acetyltransferase (p300-HAT) activity, indicating a novel potential strategy for the prevention of heart failure.