Curcumin, properties

Curcumin (diferuloyl methane) is the main pigment of turmeric. It is widely used as a colorant and preservative agent. No data regarding its daily intake in western countries are available intake may reach 80 to 200 mg in adult Indians. To date, no study has explored the effect of curcumin consumption on the incidence of diseases, but many beneficial effects on health have been reported in cell and animal models. These include anti-carcinogenic, anti-diabetic, anti-atherosclerotic, and anti-Alzheimer s disease properties. ... 

Khopde, S.M. et ah. Effect of solveut ou the excited-state photophysical properties of curcumin, Photochem. Photobiol., 72, 625, 2000. 

A series of natural and synthetic products have also shown antiamyloid properties as amyloid scavengers or P-breakers. One example is the phenolic yellow curry pigment curcumin, which has potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities and can suppress oxidative damage, inflammation, cognitive deficits, and amyloid... 

Curcuma longa L. C. domestica L. Yu Jin (Turmeric) (tuber) 1-curcamene, sesquiterpene, camphor, camphene, curmarin, curzernone, curzenene, curcumol, furanodienone, furanodiene, zederone, curcolone, diol, procurcumenol, curdione, curcumin. 33-398-460-510 Anti-inflammatory, antitumor, anti-infectious properties, antioxidative activity. Activate blood flow, remove blood stasis. 

Studies have also demonstrated curcumin s therapeutic properties in vivo. In 6-week-old mice, the administration of a 2% curcumin diet via oral gavage resulted in a 53% reduction in lymphomas and leukemias. When topically applied prior to the administration of TPA in mice, curcumin down-regulated TPA-induced NF-kB and AP-1. It was also showed that oral administration of curcumin (50-200 mg/kg) inhibits the development of leukemia (HL 60) cell-induced xenografts in nude mice [Anand et al., 2008]. 

Dorai T, Dutcher JP, Dempster DW, Wiernik PH. 2004. Therapeutic potential of curcumin in prostate cancer-V Interference with the osteomimetic properties of hormone refractory C4-2B prostate cancer cells. Prostate 60 1-17. 

Ray S, Chattopadhyay N, Mitra A, Siddiqi M, Chatterjee A. 2003. Curcumin exhibits antimetastatic properties by modulating integrin receptors, collagenase activity, and expression of Nm23 and E-cadherin. J Environ Pathol Toxicol Oncol 22 49-58. 

Menon VP, Sudheer AR. 2007. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin. Adv Exp Med Biol 595 105-125. 

Strimpakos AS, Sharma RA. 2008. Curcumin Preventive and therapeutic properties in laboratory studies and clinical trials. Antioxid Redox Signal 10 511-545. 

Curcumin is reported to prevent DNA damage, even in individuals who may be genetically susceptible to the toxic effects of xenobiotic exposures, and is also able to exert antimutagenic/anticarcinogenic properties at levels as low as 0.1-0.5% in the diet (Polasa et al., 2004). 

An interesting property of curcuminoids is their anti-HIV effect, which has been demonstrated during in vitro and in vivo experiments, including a limited number of human studies (Lin et al., 1994). HIV infection is characterized by a complex command system, the structural part of which is called Tong terminal repeat (LTR), which results in virus activation or inactivation. Drugs that interfere with LTR may be of potential therapeutic value in delaying active HIV infection and the progression of AIDS. Curcumin has been found to inhibit activation of the LTR and to decrease HIV replication effectively (Li et al., 1993). 

Satoskar, R.R., Shah, S.J. and Shenoy, S.G. (1986) Evaluation of anti-inflammatory property of curcumin (diferuloyl methane) in patients with postoperative inflammation. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Theoretical Toxiclogy 24, 651-654. 

Chan, M.M.Y., Huang, H.I., and Fenton, M.R., In vivo inhibition of nitric oxide synthase gene expression by curcumin, a cancer preventive natural product with antiinflammatory properties, Biochem. Pharmacol., 55, 1955, 1998. 

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