Curcumin: preventive and therapeutic properties in laboratory studies and clinic

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Antioxid Redox Signal. 2008 Mar;10(3):511-45.

Curcumin: preventive and therapeutic properties in laboratory studies

and clinical trials.

Strimpakos AS, Sharma RA.

Department of Medicine, Royal Marsden Hospital, London, England.

Curcumin is a natural polyphenol used in ancient Asian medicine.

Since the first article referring to the use of curcumin to treat

human disease was published in The Lancet in 1937, >2,600 research

studies using curcumin or turmeric have been published in English

language journals. The mechanisms implicated in the inhibition of

tumorigenesis by curcumin are diverse and appear to involve a

combination of antiinflammatory, antioxidant, immunomodulatory,

proapoptotic, and antiangiogenic properties via pleiotropic effects

on genes and cell-signaling pathways at multiple levels.

The potentially adverse sequelae of curcumin's effects on

proapoptotic genes, particularly p53, represent a cause for current

debate. When curcumin is combined with some cytotoxic drugs or

certain other diet-derived polyphenols, synergistic effects have been

demonstrated.

Although curcumin's low systemic bioavailability after oral dosing

may limit access of sufficient concentrations for pharmacologic

effects in tissues outside the gastrointestinal tract, chemical

analogues and novel delivery methods are in preclinical development

to overcome this barrier.

This article provides an overview of the extensive published

literature on the use of curcumin as a therapy for malignant and

inflammatory diseases and its potential use in the * treatment of

degenerative neurologic diseases *, cystic fibrosis, and

cardiovascular diseases. Despite the breadth of the coverage,

particular emphasis is placed on the prevention and treatment of

human cancers.