Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016 Sep 9;7(3):339-346.
doi: 10.1016/j.jtcme.2016.08.002. eCollection 2017 Jul.

Curcumin: An age-old anti-inflammatory and anti-neoplastic agent

Affiliations
Review

Curcumin: An age-old anti-inflammatory and anti-neoplastic agent

Matthew C Fadus et al. J Tradit Complement Med. .

Abstract

Curcumin is a natural anti-inflammatory agent that has been used for treating medical conditions for many years. Several experimental and pharmacologic trials have demonstrated its efficacy in the role as an anti-inflammatory agent. Curcumin has been shown to be effective in treating chronic conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, Alzheimer's and common malignancies like colon, stomach, lung, breast, and skin cancers. As treatments in medicine become more and more complex, the answer may be something simpler. This is a review article written with the objective to systematically analyze the wealth of information regarding the medical use of curcumin, the "curry spice", and to understand the existent gaps which have prevented its widespread application in the medical community.

Keywords: Anti-inflammatory; Cancer; Chemoprophylaxis; Curcumin; Curry; Turmeric.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Image 1
Graphical abstract

References

    1. Goel A., Kunnumakkara A.B., Aggarwal B.B. Curcumin as “Curecumin”: from kitchen to clinic. Biochem Pharmacol. 2007 - PubMed
    1. Aggarwal B.B., Takada Y., Oommen O.V. From chemoprevention to chemotherapy: common targets and common goals. Expert Opin Investig Drugs. 2004;13:1327–1338. - PubMed
    1. Eigner D., Scholz D. Ferula asa-foetida and Curcuma longa in traditional medical treatment and diet in Nepal. J Ethnopharmacol. 1999;67:1–6. - PubMed
    1. Basnet Purusotam, Skalko-Basnet Natasa. Curcumin: an anti-inflammatory molecule from a curry spice on the path to cancer treatment. Molecules. 2011:4567–4598. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wang Ke, Fan Hua, Chen Qingsen. Curcumin inhibits aerobic glycolysis and induces mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis through hexokinase II in human colorectal cancer cells in vitro. Anti-Cancer Drugs. 2015;26(1):15–24. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources