Washington (PTI): It has been used in India for centuries to treat wounds and infections. And, now scientists in the US have discovered that "holy powder" turmeric can make human cell membranes behave for better health.

A team at Michigan University, led by Indian-origin researcher Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy, has claimed that curcumin acts as a disciplinarian, inserting itself into cell membranes and making them more orderly, a move that helps improve cells' resistance to infection and malignancy.

In fact, the scientists have found curcumin regulates the action of membrane proteins "indirectly", by changing the physical properties of the membrane.

"The membrane goes from being crazy and floppy to being more disciplined and ordered, so that information flow through it can be controlled," Prof Ramamoorthy wrote in the 'Journal of the American Chemical Society'.

In their study, the scientists used a technique called solid-state NMR spectroscopy to reveal atom-level details of these important molecules and the membranous milieu in which they operate.

"Probing high-resolution intermolecular interactions in the messy membrane environment has been a major challenge to commonly used biophysical techniques," Ramamoorthy said.

The team is now planning to study a variety of curcumin derivatives, some of which have enhanced potency.

"We want to see how these various derivatives interact with the membrane, to see if the interactions are the same as observed. Such a study could lead to development of compounds to treat infection and other diseases," he said.