Curcumin in antidepressant treatments: An overview of potential mechanisms, pre‐clinical/clinical trials and ongoing challenges

Abstract

Depression is one of the most common but serious psychiatric disorders affecting millions of people globally, which has become increasingly prevalent during the past few decades. To alleviate this challenging health and social burden, various therapeutic strategies have been developed to achieve efficient treatments for depression. In particular, plenty of chemical ingredients of natural origin have been investigated as new direct antidepressants or served as adjuvants to improve the current treatment outcomes of existing antidepressant drugs. Among them, curcumin, a natural compound derived from the herb Curcuma longa, exhibits a wide range of pharmacological properties and has been considered a potent antidepressant drug with diverse mechanisms including monoaminergic imbalances (associated with serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline and glutamate), effect on neurotransmitters, neuroprogression, the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis disturbances, dysregulated inflammation and immune pathways, oxidative and nitrosative stress, and mitochondrial disturbances. In this review, multiple potential mechanisms of curcumin for treating depression demonstrated in either animal or human studies are summarized. To better understand the significant role of curcumin, specific emphasis will be placed on the aetiopathogenesis of depression. Finally, current pre‐clinical/clinical trials and ongoing challenges of curcumin used for antidepressant treatments will be discussed and their future outlooks will be briefly presented.

Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms of Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase 1 Influenced the Age Onset of Parkinson’s Disease

“…abnormalities such as the increased activity of kynurenine aminotransferase (KAT) and elevated KYNA levels in red blood cells, which may be a protective response [36]. Natural product curcumin was reported to relieve pain and stress through the KYN metabolic pathway [37]. The KP is proposed to be a potential target for treatment of Alzheimer's diseases and schizophrenia [26,38].…”

Curcumin: Could This Compound Be Useful in Pregnancy and Pregnancy-Related Complications?

“…Curcumin can influence the unbalanced release of monoamine neurotransmitters—such as serotonin (5-HT), dopamine (DA), noradrenaline, and glutamate—the expression of monoamine oxidase (MAO), the expression of neurotrophic factors such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurogenesis, as well as the dysregulated immune system function and oxidative and nitrosative stress. Thus, curcumin appears to promote neurogenesis and inhibit neuronal cell apoptosis [ 83 , 84 , 92 , 93 ]. Despite the consistent evidence of efficacy and safety of curcumin treatment in other pathological conditions, to date, data on its effects on depression in pregnancy are completely lacking.…”

Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms of Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase Influenced the Age Onset of Parkinson’s Disease

“…In addition to the central nervous system, peripheral samples showed abnormalities such as the increased activity of kynurenine aminotransferase (KAT) and elevated KYNA levels in red blood cells, which may be a protective response [35]. Natural product curcumin was reported to relieve pain and stress through the KYN metabolic pathway [36]. The KP is proposed to be a potential target for treatment of Alzheimer's diseases and schizophrenia [26,37].…”