September 24 2007 post. Yesterday I received a blog comment that turned out to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. In a good sense! Until then, I had rather stubbornly decided not to recommend or even list any curcumin brands or sources on my blog, but I realize that this type of information might be useful to those thinking of taking curcumin but with no idea where to buy it (so many websites sell it now, and it’s hard to separate reliable from unreliable ). So I have changed my mind. Of course, let me state first and foremost that I have no financial or other type of interest in any of the brands or sources that I will be listing below. Okay, with that out of the way, here goes.
Curcumin brands and sources in the U.S.A.: capsules
1. Please go see Don’s excellent list: http://tinyurl.com/34byoj. He does us the huge favour of comparing costs (per capsule, even). The only addition that I would make is that Doctor’s Best can be bought a bit more cheaply at Vitacost, which is where I generally order most of my supplements. Okay, I take that back, the price has recently gone up to $ 14.74. Still, a few cents cheaper. As we say in Italy, tutto fa brodo, which literally means everything makes broth, but is properly translated as it’s all grist to the mill, hey, even just a few cents. 😉 Ok, seriously, now. Don has also posted a lot of good information about curcumin, and, in particular, I would suggest a read of his post on curcumin and nanotechnology: http://tinyurl.com/3as7we Of the brands listed by Don, I have taken NSI and Doctor’s Best. I had fewer stomach gurglings with the former, but of course that doesn’t mean it is better or worse. I know that Don mixes and matches his capsules a bit, which I think is a good idea, especially in order to avoid taking too much bioperine. I read that too much black pepper is not good for us in the long run (I have posted about this), so please remember not to add black pepper to your food if you are taking eight grams of curcumin WITH bioperine.
2. There is also another source for capsules (and perhaps even powder, but that is a question you would have to ask the company) at: http://www.turmeric-curcumin.com/ I have never personally ordered from them, so I cannot say much except that their curcumin does not contain bioperine and is not the C3 Complex curcumin by Sabinsa. Just another option. Ah, if you scroll down their homepage, you will also find up-to-date news about curcumin, which can be very useful.
3. November 10 2007 UPDATE, taken from my September 15 post: Life Extension Foundation sells a product called Super Bio-Curcumin”: http://tinyurl.com/2aarkp Here is an excerpt from the LEF web page: The 100% natural curcuminoids complex in Super Bio-Curcumin ® is a patent-pending synergistic blend of curcuminoids and sesquiterpenoids with enhanced bioavailability and sustained retention time in the body confirmed by human clinical studies. Super Bio-Curcumin ® is a next generation’ in delivery of curcumin compounds that no longer requires high doses of curcumin to reach sustainable levels of curcumin in the blood plasma. Each 400 mg capsule of Super Bio-Curcumin ® is equivalent to 2772 mg of a typical 95% curcumin extract. This product is actually BioCurcumax, which you can read about in my “Bioavailability Page.” Interesting. Hope it works! Update: it made my MM markers WORSE. Too bad!
Curcumin Powder
There are (still) two main U.S. sources for curcumin powder, as far as I know.
1. UPDATE November 26 2008: a blog reader (thank you!) informed me that my very first supplier of curcumin, a company called Supplemental Health Formulations, or SHF, has apparently disappeared. I will leave its name on my blog, in case the company reappears some day, but he’s right, the website is gone, so I am getting rid of the link. Too bad. My blog reader orders his curcumin powder from Pure Bulk: http://purebulk.com/curcumin-95-turmeric-pe-c-96.html. He says that Pure Bulk provides “good service and cheap shipping.” It’s 95%, so that is good. But it’s not the C3 Complex curcumin. This company does not ship to Italy.
2. You can buy the C3 Complex used in the MD Anderson clinical trial directly from Sabinsa, apparently. The cost is $ 73.00 per kilo, plus shipping costs. I took this information from an e-mail exchange I had in January of 2007 with Kavita Subramanian who at that time was the Senior Manager, International Business, for Sabinsa Corporation, 70 Ethel Road West, Unit 6, Piscataway, NJ 08854. Please contact her for more information (UPDATE: this info is not recent, so please take with a grain of salt). I should add that I have never ordered directly from Sabinsa U.S.A., but I have ordered from their Italian distributor, see below.
Curcumin brands and sources in Europe: capsules
U.K.: a couple of blog readers (thank you!) sent me their source for Doctor’s Best: http://tinyurl.com/yto9uh
Italy: capsules and powder can be ordered from the Italian distributor of Sabinsa, Sochim International. This is the Sochim homepage: http://www.sochim.it/ Their catalogue can be downloaded in English and in Italian. Sochim does not sell to private citizens, so you must order curcumin (capsules or powder) through your pharmacy or herbal store or whatnot. I have ordered both C3 Complex curcumin capsules and powder (both sans bioperine) from Sochim through my friendly pharmacist here in Florence. A slight drag, but it works.
UPDATE November 2008. A wonderful friendly helpful and knowledgeable pharmacist who will ship anywhere over Italy is Dr. Balducci, whose pharmacy is in Calenzano, near Florence. Here are the details: Farmacia Balducci, via Giuseppe Giusti, 15, Calenzano (FI) 50041, tel: 055 8824687 or 055 8879004. He has a galenic lab, too, which is very useful. Curcumin capsules with or without bioperine and curcumin powder are available here. It is the C3 Complex type, which he gets directly from Sochim.
There is also a French company called Anastore (the website may be viewed in four languages) that uses the C3 Complex curcumin: http://www.anastore.com/ I placed my first curcumin capsule order with Anastore, as a matter of fact. Prompt and free delivery. But it got to be a bit expensive because at the time they were making only a 400 mg capsule. Now I see that they make a 500 mg capsule. Much better. However, if I have done the math correctly (always double-check me, I am not good at all with numbers!), even the 3+1 offer would last only 15 days on eight grams a day. Not very long. Anastore is also my source for black cumin oil capsules, by the way.
UPDATE, October 2008: an Italian pharmaceutical company called “Steve Jones,” based in Prato, near Florence, has developed curcumin capsules, the C3 Complex kind, with bioperine and a bit of selenium. The product is called TAMIL, and it can be found at, or ordered from, any pharmacy in Italy. For more info, see: http://www.stevejones.it/index.php?id=136,525,0,0,1,0
Curcumin powder
I have ordered the C3 Complex powder from the Italian Sochim Int., see details above.
There is a Spanish distributor for Sabinsa, Goerlich Pharma Espana, S.L., but I don’t know if they sell curcumin to individuals, although I see that they do list the C3 Complex powder here: http://tinyurl.com/ytn2ng. The website also lists contact numbers, etc.
Sabinsa Europe is based in Germany, see contact information here: http://tinyurl.com/yq8m8t. Again, no idea if they sell to individuals. The only way to find out is to contact them directly.
I will make an effort to find other sources in Europe, which I fear won’t be easy until curcumin becomes a common household word. Of course, Sabinsa’s homepage lists their branches throughout the world. Easy.
Have I missed anything? Probably. As always, I welcome suggestions and comments. Thank you!
UPDATES (2007). A blog reader wrote: “I buy my curcumin powder (Turmeric Extract) from Tattva’s Herbs based in Seattle, WA. Their website is www.tattvasherbs.com. Phone: 877-828-8824. Their curcumin is Curcumin C3 Complex from Sabinsa. They also have it in capsules. A jar of 200 grams is $67.95. However, those in the healthfield can purchase it at wholesale price. I do not think it is so hard to get it at wholesale,though. A cancer clinic in Seattle gets its curcumin from this company.”
Another blog reader (from Germany) got in touch with Sabinsa Europe, and was told that one of their customers is a chemist (who makes curcumin capsules with the C3 Complex curcumin) in Koblenz, as follows: Schloss Apotheke, Schlossstr. 17, 56068 Koblenz, 0261/18439, 0261/12449; http://www.schloss-apotheke-koblenz.de He also discovered a website that sells the NOW curcumin: http://tinyurl.com/35cvpl
dear Margaret,
I am Marjo Go and live in Holland. nearly 6 years ago I got the diagnose Multiply myoloma but after a while they told me it is mgus (1.9. I am at the university hospital (heamatology)in Amsterdam. My mother had a test at her 70th for osteoporose and they told her that bones where very tranparant. So four years ago I ask to have a DEXA scan they told me that it was ok. 2 months ago a asked for another dexa scan and now i am diagnosed osteoporose and they gave me pills fosamax and calcium and vit. D2.with a substance aspartaam. I do not like aspertaam so I looked for an other possibility bio calcium and D3 and K1. Today it is the first time I came on your site. It is not easy to understand all in one time reading. But I have a question (probably in future more) who can help me with curcumin powder how do I know how much is good for me. and on the of the page stands a lot of myeloma’s (L or smm etc) How will I get to know what I have?? what questions could I ask my specialist to know which one? I hope to hear something from you. Thank you for reading this.
with kind regards and love,
marjo go (from holland)
Margaret, would you be so kind as to send me Kavita Subramanian’s email? I would like to check on the availability and current pricing of Sabinsa’s C3 curcumin.
Thank you for sharing your journey. Even though I don’t have MM, I still find it to be an incredible informational resource.
Margaret,
I have been diagnosed with MGUS. First was told it was myeloma, and now, to my great relief, it has been downgraded to MGUS. 8% Plasma cells and the compression fracture that started all this appears not to be a lytic lesion. However . . . with osteopenia and MGUS I am VERY interested in curcumin.
Thank you for this amazing blog, by the way, I keep returning here to learn as much as I can take it . . . in between trying to pretend none of this is happening 🙂
Anyway, I have found a new one in the Doctor’s Best line called”Doctor’s Best, Meriva, Phytosome Curcumins, 500 mg, 60 Veggie Caps .” (I’m loving the veggie caps as I’m a vegetarian.)
Have you any information on this? I would appreciate any comments.
I found it on the iHerb.com site which by the way has some good prices, and if you use the coupon code BET844 you can get $5.00 off your first order.
Hi Margaret,
Thanks for your blog. It is a useful source of information. I came accross your blog and started giving cucurmin to my mom who has ovarian cancer. She is in india I was wondering if sabinsa has distributors for cucurmin in india. Can you share with me the contact information of sabinsa corp. My mom is having chemotheraphy also so wanted to if it is advisable to take cucurmin with it. Can you share email of Dr. Aggarwal also with me?
I will appreciate your reply
Thanks,
Sachin
I want to try using turmeric. So far all I have found in capsule form in Australia is caps containing 500mgs. These work out at about $1 a capsule meaning it would cost $16/day to reach the recomended 8gms. I am not sure I can afford it. How do I work out the dose by just using bulk powder which I can get very inexpensively., HELP PLEASE
hi, I just realised that Doctors Best Curcumin C3 Complex with BioPerine – 120 x 1000mg became more expensive. from 33,07 pound in july, now I paid 44.95 for an item. I always ordered it from UK (bodykind.com) living in italy and having problems with italian customs if I ordered from USA. but still
spending 3,5 euro a day is not so expensive…
Hi Michael
I also live in Australia and have found that curcumin is really expensive. I order mine from the USA, it does take about two weeks to arrive but at least it is far cheaper. I get it through Ageless Cures on the website. Hope this helps the cost is around 32.00 USD for 150 500mg capsules. This is the C3 COmplex with Bioperine,
Margarete,
Just starting reading your blog. What a wonderful resource – thanks so much! I started taking turmeric for 2 reasons: ulcerative colitis and thyroid cancer that was successfully removed with minimal consequences. I never gave much thought to the actual dose i consume. I wonder if you could help me to evaluate the following:
Organic India Turmeric Formula: each capsule contains
370mg organic turmeric rhizome
80mg turmeric extract 95% curcummoids
50mg organic ginger rhizome
Does it mean that there is 450mg curcumin per cap? I am totally confused! I’d be very happy and grateful to hear from you. Thanks in advance!
I get my c3 complex with Bioperine from Vitacost.com in the US. $23.99 for 1160mg 120 caps. I take ten caps a day. I have 70% plasma cells, free light chain count 2,500 (normal is 30-50) Holding steady since first diagnosed last January wheb I started curcumin regime. Haven’t told my sceptic doctor I’m taking curcumin – he’s puzzled that I’m so stable!! Now down to six-weekly visits from previous four-weekly. No symptoms wharsoever except get tired easily – but I am 77!. Maye there really is something to this curcumin! If so, all thanks to Saint Margaret.
Re above, I should say that I live in the UK. My Vitacost packages take about 20 days to arrive (postage and packing only $7) and to date I have incurred no import duty or customs charge.
Hi John
Its wonderful that you have been stable since diagnosis. I also get my curcumin from Vitacost, I live in Australia, it has kept me stable for a year now, good on Curcumin, would be nice to hear from others whom it has kept stable as well. Good luck for the future and hope you stay well.
Hello Libby,
Yes, nice to be stable but I wonder if a slightly higher dosage might actually roll back those plasma cells through apoptosis. I’m on 11gr daily, more than Margaret’s absolute limit of 8gr, but I reason that I’m almost certainly a good deal heavier (bigger) than her so it’s probably much the same dosage, gram for kilo weight. Maybe I’ll try 15 grams for a while – there have been no studies I know of setting any upper limit, just one concluding 10gm was ok.
My wife and I are simply using the spice turmeric mixed with black pepper, taken with fish oil. I assume we are not getting the same benefits as from the brands listed, but what are the major differences between the spice and what is listed? We take about 3.5 grams per day orally, and both do the atomic bomb or all at once protocol.
Thanks this is an excellent source of information.
Wondering is anyone has any first hand news to report on Healthy Source’s Biomor Curcumin.
http://healthysource.net/facts_biomor_curcumin.html
States it’s 800% more available in blood than 95% Curcumin due to patented blending with an agent extracted from Pineapple.
Fact or snakeoil?
Colvan
I’d just get the Doctor’s Best or Vitacost brand that Margaret uses. They were shown to be what they say they are. Then add a supplement of Bromelain if you think it will help.
Colvan
I forgot to mention to get a high GDU value for the bromelain. The biomor has 2600. Some low value GDU products cost as much or more than a good high GDU product.
I haven’t been able to get the Dr’s Best 500 mg with Bioperene. The only one I see is the Meriva one…do you think they are discontinuing it?
Margaret,
I know you have much of the information on Curcumin products and I was wondering if you have looked into Longvida™ Curcumin? Would you be so kind to share any information you might have? Thank you.
Nora Brock
Another source of Doctor’s Best Curcumin C3 Complex® with BioPerine® 500mg is Netrition.com. They will ship almost anywhere in the world, unless prohibited.
Vitacost has been out of stock recently.
Margaret mentioned, Vitacost has a house brand of Curcumin C3 Complex 500mg that is absent from their web site today.
The list of online sellers of Doctor’s Best Curcumin C3 Complex 500 MG 120 Caps. is here:
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&client=safari&q=Doctors+Best+Curcumin+C3+Complex+with+BioPerine+500+mg&cid=6931165141173607226&os=sellers
Diane
1 Feb 12 at 11:26 am
Diane: Thanks for the inks on the curcumin. My wife has MM and her Indian oncologist called her aside one day and said to take as much as she can! Sure beats chemo at $7000 per dose.
Wow! Glad to help.
Be sure to change the location of the search to match your locale. I noticed after posting that the results were for my area.
I wish you both well.
Thank you Diane. I can’t wait for my wife to get on this. Peace.
Hi Margaret n the rest..I begun reading about curcumin quite a while back as I had no serious ailments to compel me to take prescriptions. Nevertheless I was introduced to curcumin by my neighbor whose sister has cancer. And this curcumin is purely curcumin serum which is soluble in liquid and was said to be bioavailable. Recommended daily dosage was like 250mg added to drinking water. The first nite’s sleep was the best in years but after 1 week of consuming it, my body experienced some healing crisis, and shoulder and hips went achy. But it lasted for abt 5 days but after that period my body has been wonderful.
I’ll update soonest…
I bought five pounds of curcumin when visiting the Sechelles Islands off NE coast of Africa. I thought it was safrin when I bought it and was really bumbed out when I found it was curcumin. However, I have been eating it in soups, stews, and with boiled rice and honey and pepper. Its an awesome digestive tract food therapy. I have had no stomach, bowel, problems since eating this stuff. However, I am about to run out and am wondering where I can get more in the quantity I have enjoyed. I don’t want to buy it in capsules since I use it to cook with. Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks!
I saw 5# of bulk Curcumin for sale on Amazon.com for $20.
Upon closer examination, I believe they are selling Turmeric powder.
Another site from is selling 5KG of 95% curcumin for $2610.00 plus shipping.
Wow!
Perhaps you have an acquaintance in the Seychelles who could help you obtain more?
Hello Margaret, in europe where do you buy your curcumin powder from? I’ve been looking for a better source as 8 pills is a lot to swallow.
Peter – I’m in Europe but I buy my curcumin from Vitacost in the US. Much cheaper. Comes within a couple of weeks and I’ve not paid any customs duty yet (in two years, seven shipments). Shipping only a few dollars. I take 17 capsules a day – seven of them curcumin. You get used to it. I’ve been stable for a year now – my consultant doesn’t wanr to believe it’s curcumin doing the trick. Maybe it’s not but he gave me a 55% chance of living only one year, two years ago. I haven’t taken any officially prescribed medicine in all that time, not even one paracetamol tablet. So, go for it!
Dear Margaret,
I have read about what you have done to keep your SMM in check and getting better with Curcumin protocol. My question relates to using both your protocol and TABs protocol. Would this be too disruptive to my system? I have just been identified SMM and am 74. I have read that my statistics donot look good for survival rate. I am determined to fight and not just “wait and see”. I need all the help I can get to arrest this disease and gain some time for life. I would appreciate any help you could give me.
Thanks, Deanna
I’ve been using the BIOMOR product for about 6 months. Seems to be working OK for me. (Preventative maintainence only) although a little while back got a bit rin-down and had a number of boils appear. Uped my daily dose and opened a cap and make a paste and applied topically. Cleared then up in about 4-5 days. Stings a bit but really cleaned them up. Live in Australia….postage from US hurts…hurts bad
I have been taking a product called Curcumall for 1,5 years. It is produced in Israel (http://www.curcumol4u.com/index.php), and comes in a liquid form.
It is a very effective anti-inflammatory. My pains have been reduced significantly and my hemoglobin has been stable. I decided to take it because they state that in this liquid form the absorptio of curcumin is higher than in its original form.
Has anybody elese tried this product and would like to share their experience here?
Margaret’s corner.
Dear Margaret.
Thank you for this very important information.
Erik Venderby, Denmark
What is the name for the curcumin product that is manufactured in Green Bay, WI?
What is the suggested daily dosage of C3 for MGUS?