Curcumin is the major yellow pigment extracted from turmeric, the powdered root of the herb Curcuma longa.Curcumin has long been used as a spice in Asia and is considered a safe additive.It has also been used in traditional Indian Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years to treat inflammation associated with such ailments as fever, stomach aches and skin abrasions.Modern research into spices anticancer properties began after epidemiological studies reported a 10-50% lower incidence of certain cancers in India.Subsequently as array of lab and animal studies have been done which showed that curcumin kills cancer cells and slows tumor growth.