Turmeric has been known in its native Southeast Asia for about 4,000 years. In traditional India, the root is even considered sacred and is still used today as a spice and in the healing arts. In Ayurveda, turmeric plays an important role as a cleansing and healing natural remedy. The traditional spice is said to alleviate blisters and veins, for example.

Turmeric reached Europe as early as the Middle Ages and was also valued here as a spice, medicinal plant and herb. The root owes its second name, "Indian saffron", to its herbal properties. Today, turmeric can be bought as a tuber, powder or in high doses in curcumin capsules. Turmeric extract capsules with a calculable dosage for safe intake are also available.

In the past, people relied on their experience for medicinal plants like turmeric. In the modern world, we have scientific means of investigation at our disposal. Over the last few decades, a lot has been discovered about turmeric: Botanically, turmeric is closely related to ginger. The useful ingredients of turmeric extract have been identified as various essential oils and curcuminoids. The latter are secondary plant compounds whose main component is curcumin. Its effect is being further investigated in a number of scientific studies. So far, there are indications from cell culture studies of anti-inflammatory properties.

Black pepper, like turmeric, is a spice that has been used for a long time and is probably the most popular in the world. It owes its pungent taste to the secondary plant substance piperine. In the past, black pepper was not only used as a spice, but was also an integral part of traditional medicine in Asia as well as in Europe. Today, it is known that piperine can improve the bioavailability of some nutrients and is therefore included in some dietary supplement products.

Curcumin from turmeric powder, but also from some curcumin capsules, has a low bioavailability. This means that the secondary plant compounds can only be poorly absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract. Thus, a large part is excreted unused. Piperine, the main component of black pepper, can increase the bioavailability of curcumin capsules about 20-fold. So the amount of curcuminoids that reach the body is significantly increased by black pepper in a natural way. Other attempts to increase the bioavailability of turmeric are more complex. For example, in some turmeric capsules the plant substance is combined with artificially produced particles or complexes.