Curcumin Nanoformulations for Colorectal Cancer: A Review

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most prevalent form of cancer, after lung cancer and breast cancer, with the second highest death incidence. Over the years, natural compounds have been explored as an alternative to conventional cancer therapies such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Curcumin, an active constituent of turmeric has been associated with various health benefits. It has gained much attention as an anticancer agent due to its ability to regulate multiple cell signaling pathways, including NF-κB, STAT3, activated protein-1 (AP-1), epidermal growth response-1 (Egr-1), and p53, which are crucial in cancer development and progression. Nevertheless, the clinical application of curcumin is greatly restricted because of its low water solubility, poor oral absorption, and rapid metabolism. These issues have led to the development of curcumin nanoformulations to overcome the limitations of the compound. Nanotechnology-based delivery systems have been widely used in improving the delivery of poorly-water soluble drugs. Besides, these systems also come with the added benefits of possible cellular targeting and improvement in cellular uptake. An ideal improved formulation should display a greater anticancer activity compared to free curcumin, and at the same time be non-toxic to the normal cells. In this review, we focus on the design and development of various nanoformulations to deliver curcumin for use in CRC such as liposomes, micelles, polymer nanoparticles, nanogels, cyclodextrin complexes, solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN), phytosomes, and gold nanoparticles. We also discuss the current pre-clinical and clinical evidences of curcumin nanoformulations in CRC therapy, analyse the research gap, and address the future direction of this research area.

Therapeutic Applications of Curcumin Nanomedicine Formulations in Cardiovascular Diseases

“…Nanomedicine is bridging the gap between pharmaceutical limitations and the therapeutic potentials of natural phytochemicals by improving the compound's targeting, pharmacokinetics, efficacy, and cellular uptake [73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80]. Many studies have focused on CUR nanotechnology mediated drug delivery formulations in optimization the therapeutics uses of CUR for various diseases, such as cancer therapy [81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90], neurodegenerative disorders [91,92], wound healing [93], diabetes [94,95], and inflammatory diseases [96]. A wide variety of nanomedicine-based drug delivery systems are used to deliver CUR such as liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, dendrimers, solid lipid nanoparticles, dendrosomes, nanogels, micelles, niosomes, cyclodextrin inclusion complexes, silver and gold nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, nanoemulsions, nanosuspensions, exosomes, nanocrystals, and mesoporous silica nanoparticles.…”

A randomized, phase 1, placebo‐controlled trial of APG‐157 in oral cancer demonstrates systemic absorption and an inhibitory effect on cytokines and tumor‐associated microbes

“…Turmeric, from the rhizome of this plant, contains by dry weight approximately 60% to 70% carbohydrate, 6% to 13% water, 6% to 8% protein, 5% to 10% fat, 3% to 7% dietary minerals, 3% to 7% essential oils, 2% to 7% dietary fiber, and 1% to 6% flavonoids, primarily consisting of polyphenols (curcuminoids) . Over the past 20 years, curcumin and its derivatives have been studied as an alternative supplemental therapy for human cancers, including those of the breast, cervix, pancreas, and colorectum . The predominant curcuminoid in turmeric is curcumin (diferuloylmethane, up to 3% of the dry weight of turmeric), with smaller amounts of bis‐demethoxycurcumin (BDC) and dimethoxycurcumin (DMC) .…”

“…16 Over the past 20 years, curcumin and its derivatives have been studied as an alternative supplemental therapy for human cancers, including those of the breast, cervix, pancreas, and colorectum. 17,18 The predominant curcuminoid in turmeric is curcumin (diferuloylmethane, up to 3% of the dry weight of turmeric), with smaller amounts of bis-demethoxycurcumin (BDC) and dimethoxycurcumin (DMC). 19 Several structurally related compounds, such as difluorinated curcumin (CDF) and cinnamic, p-coumaric, syringic, ferulic, and caffeic acids, also have anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and anticancer properties.…”

Curcumin inhibits epithelial‑mesenchymal transition in oral cancer cells via c‑Met blockade

“…Notably, activation of the HGF/c-Met signalling pathway has been shown to promote cancer cell scattering and invasion. Curcumin has been extensively studied for its potential chemopreventive and anti-tumour activities in colorectal cancer (15,16). Furthermore, curcumin has been shown to reduce the expression of EMT markers and act as a potent inhibitor of EMT in various…”