Curcumin as a therapeutic agent: the evidence fromin vitro, animal and human studies

Abstract

Curcumin is the active ingredient of turmeric. It is widely used as a kitchen spice and food colorant throughout India, Asia and the Western world. Curcumin is a major constituent of curry powder, to which it imparts its characteristic yellow colour. For over 4000 years, curcumin has been used in traditional Asian and African medicine to treat a wide variety of ailments. There is a strong current public interest in naturally occurring plant-based remedies and dietary factors related to health and disease. Curcumin is non-toxic to human subjects at high doses. It is a complex molecule with multiple biological targets and different cellular effects. Recently, its molecular mechanisms of action have been extensively investigated. It has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-cancer properties. Under some circumstances its effects can be contradictory, with uncertain implications for human treatment. While more studies are warranted to further understand these contradictions, curcumin holds promise as a disease-modifying and chemopreventive agent. We review the evidence for the therapeutic potential of curcumin from in vitro studies, animal models and human clinical trials.

Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Effects of Curcumin Against Hepatorenal Oxidative Injury in the Experimental Sepsis Model Created in Rats

“…Curcumin facilitates excretion of many oxygen radicals, particularly superoxide anion, nitrogen dioxide, and hydrogen radicals. [18,19] Although it is difficult to create a supportive treatment environment similar to that applied in intensive care units in animal models, experimental models are of great importance in understanding the physiopathology of septic shock and finding new therapeutic approaches prior to clinical trials. The CLP model used in the present study creates a model similar to the clinical features of septic shock and resembles human sepsis, as the CLP model displays hypodynamic and hypometabolic phases following the hypermetabolic phase.…”

Susceptibility of clinical isolates of Candida to photodynamic effects of curcumin

“…Curcum (CUR) is an intensely yellow pigment, isolated from rhizomes of Curcuma longa, which is in worldwide used as a cooking spice, flavoring agent, and colorant [22]. An increasing number of investigations have suggested that CUR exhibits potential therapeutic applications that may be enhanced by combination with light, as it displays a high light absorption in the visible spectral region, around 400-500 nm [23][24][25][26].…”

Photodynamic Therapy to Eradicate Tumor Cells

“…Turmeric, the powdered rhizome of Curcuma longa L., has been used to treat a variety of inflammatory conditions and chronic diseases (Ammon & Wahl, 1991). Curcumin (CUR) is a naturally occurring, intensely yellow turmeric pigment that it is in worldwide use as a cooking spice, flavoring agent and colorant (Epstein et al, 2010). An increasing number of investigations have suggested that CUR exhibits potential therapeutic applications such as anti-inflamatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antifungal and anticancer properties (Epstein et al, 2010;Martins et al, 2009).…”

“…Curcumin (CUR) is a naturally occurring, intensely yellow turmeric pigment that it is in worldwide use as a cooking spice, flavoring agent and colorant (Epstein et al, 2010). An increasing number of investigations have suggested that CUR exhibits potential therapeutic applications such as anti-inflamatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antifungal and anticancer properties (Epstein et al, 2010;Martins et al, 2009). Some studies also showed that CUR inhibits chemically induced carcinogenesis in the skin, forestomach, and colon when it is administered during initiation and/or postinitiation stages (Kawamori et al, 1999;Huang et al,1994).…”