The Role of Curcumin in Modern Medicine
Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is an orange-yellow component of turmeric (Curcuma longa), a spice often found in curry powder. Since the time of Ayurveda numerous therapeutic activities have been assigned to turmeric for a wide variety of diseases and condi
- PDF / 383,106 Bytes
- 17 Pages / 441 x 666 pts Page_size
- 104 Downloads / 202 Views
The Role of Curcumin in Modern Medicine Gautam Sethi, Bokyung Sung and Bharat B. Aggarwal
Abstract Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is an orange-yellow component of turmeric (Curcuma longa), a spice often found in curry powder. Since the time of Ayurveda numerous therapeutic activities have been assigned to turmeric for a wide variety of diseases and conditions, including those of the skin, pulmonary, and gastrointestinal systems, aches, pains, wounds, sprains, and liver disorders. Curcumin has been shown to exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and thus has a potential against various malignant cancers, diabetes, allergies, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, and other chronic illnesses. These effects are mediated through the regulation of various transcription factors, growth factors, inflammatory cytokines, protein kinases, and other enzymes. Thus, curcumin, by virtue of its effect on multiple cell signaling pathways, could prove to be a panacea for modern human diseases. Keywords Curcuma longa · Curcumin · Antioxidant · Anticancer
7.1 Introduction The turmeric (Curcuma longa) plant, a perennial herb belonging to the ginger family, is cultivated extensively in south and southeast tropical Asia. The rhizome of this plant is also referred to as the “root” and is the most useful part of the plant for culinary and medicinal purposes. The most active component of turmeric is curcumin, which makes up 2 to 5% of the spice. Curcumin was first isolated in 1815, obtained in crystalline form in 1870 [1], and identified as 1,6-heptadiene3,5-dione-1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-(1E,6E) or diferuloylmethane. The feruloylmethane skeleton of curcumin was subsequently confirmed in 1910 by the initial work and synthesis by Lampe [2, 3]. Curcumin is a yellow-orange powder B.B. Aggarwal (B) Cytokine Research Laboratory, Departments of Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030, USA, e-mail: [email protected]
K.G. Ramawat (ed.), Herbal Drugs: Ethnomedicine to Modern Medicine, c Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2009 DOI 10.1007/978-3-540-79116-4 7,
97
98
G. Sethi et al.
that is insoluble in water and ether but soluble in ethanol, dimethylsulfoxide, and acetone. Curcumin has a melting point of 183◦ C, molecular formula of C21 H20 O6 , and molecular weight of 368.37 g/mol. Turmeric contains curcumin along with other chemical constituents known as the “curcuminoids” [4].
7.2 Isolation and Chemical Properties of Curcumin The major curcuminoids present in turmeric are demethoxycurcumin (curcumin II), bisdemethoxycurcumin (curcumin III), and the recently identified cyclocurcumin [5]. Commercial curcumin contains curcumin I (∼77%), curcumin II (∼17%), and curcumin III (∼3%) as its major components. Spectrophotometrically, curcumin has a maximum absorption (λ max) in methanol at 430 nm, with a Beer’s law range from 0.5 to 5 μg/mL [6]. It absorbs maximally at 415 to 420 nm in acetone, and a 1% solution of curcumin
Data Loading...
