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Review
. 2021 Dec 31;27(1):236.
doi: 10.3390/molecules27010236.

New Promising Therapeutic Avenues of Curcumin in Brain Diseases

Tarek Benameur  1 , Giulia Giacomucci  2 , Maria Antonietta Panaro  3 , Melania Ruggiero  3 , Teresa Trotta  4 , Vincenzo Monda  4   5 , Ilaria Pizzolorusso  6 , Dario Domenico Lofrumento  7 , Chiara Porro  4 , Giovanni Messina  4
Affiliations
Review

New Promising Therapeutic Avenues of Curcumin in Brain Diseases

Tarek Benameur et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Curcumin, the dietary polyphenol isolated from Curcuma longa (turmeric), is commonly used as an herb and spice worldwide. Because of its bio-pharmacological effects curcumin is also called "spice of life", in fact it is recognized that curcumin possesses important proprieties such as anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, antiproliferative, anti-tumoral, and anti-aging. Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's Diseases, Parkinson's Diseases, and Multiple Sclerosis are a group of diseases characterized by a progressive loss of brain structure and function due to neuronal death; at present there is no effective treatment to cure these diseases. The protective effect of curcumin against some neurodegenerative diseases has been proven by in vivo and in vitro studies. The current review highlights the latest findings on the neuroprotective effects of curcumin, its bioavailability, its mechanism of action and its possible application for the prevention or treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s diseases; Parkinson’s diseases; anti-inflammatory; curcumin; epilepsy; glioblastoma multiforme; multiple sclerosis; natural flavonoid; neurodegenerative diseases; neuroinflammation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The neuroprotective effects of curcumin against neurological disorders and associated symptoms. TAM: tumor-associated macrophages; OP: Oligodendrocye progenitor; EDSS: The Expand Disability Status Scale.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Molecular mechanisms by which curcumin exerts its therapeutic effects on neurological disorders.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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