Effects of curcumin and ursolic acid in prostate cancer: A systematic review

Abstract

The major barriers to phytonutrients in prostate cancer therapy are non-specific mechanisms and bioavailability issues. Studies have pointed to a synergistic combination of curcumin (CURC) and ursolic acid (UA). We investigate this combination using a systematic review process to assess the most likely mechanistic pathway and human testing in prostate cancer. We used the PRISMA statement to screen titles, abstracts, and the full texts of relevant articles and performed a descriptive analysis of the literature reviewed for study inclusion and consensus of the manuscript. The most common molecular and cellular pathway from articles reporting on the pathways and effects of CURC ( n = 173) in prostate cancer was NF-κB ( n = 25, 14.5%). The most common molecular and cellular pathway from articles reporting on the pathways and effects of UA ( n = 24) in prostate cancer was caspase 3/caspase 9 ( n = 10, 41.6%). The three most common molecular and cellular pathway from articles reporting on the pathways and effects of both CURC and UA ( n = 193) in prostate cancer was NF-κB ( n = 28, 14.2%), Akt ( n = 22, 11.2%), and androgen ( n = 19, 9.6%). Therefore, we have identified the potential synergistic target pathways of curcumin and ursolic acid to involve NF-κB, Akt, androgen receptors, and apoptosis pathways. Our review highlights the limited human studies and specific effects in prostate cancer.

The Efficacy of Curcumin Application to Melanoma in Mice

“…Furthermore, CUR interacts with various intracellular and extracellular molecules, participating in the occurrence of various cancers, and is a potential candidate drug for inhibiting cancer progression 8 . Research reports that CUR plays a beneficial role in preventing, treating, and controlling cancer symptoms, such as breast cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, and melanoma 9–12 . Although CUR may enhance chemotherapy and chemotherapy prevention effects on cancer cells, it is safe and has almost no side effects even at high dose 13 …”