Tumeric, which comes from the plant curcuma longa, has been used for centuries in Ayurveda (Indian traditional medicine) for its anti-inflammatory properties. In western scientific studies, including invitro studies, animal studies and human studies, components of tumeric called curcuminoids (which include, curcumin (diferuloyl methane), demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin) have been found to have anti-inflammatory properties and to be very safe, with few side-effects even at high doses.