Curcumin

Absorption

Curcumin displays poor absorption into the gastrointestinal tract. In a rat study, oral administration of a single dose of 2 g of curcumin resulted in a plasma concentration of less than 5 μg/mL, indicating poor absorption from the gut .

Toxicity

In an acute oral toxicity study in mouse, LD50 was >2000 mg/kg . Single oral doses of curcumin at 1-5 g/kg bw induced no toxic effects in rats . There has been no cases of overdose reported .

Description

The main source of curcumin is the root of Zingiberaceae Curcuma aromatica, rhizome of Curcuma longa (Jiang Huang), Curcuma zedoaria, and Acorus calamus. Among them, Jiang Huang contains about 3–6% curcumin. The traditional Chinese medicine, Jiang Huang, is the root tuber of perennial herbaceous plant Curcuma longa L. of family Zingiberaceae. It was firstly recorded in the “Tang materia medica” (Xin Xiu Ben Cao). It is pungent, bitter, and warm and enters the liver and spleen meridians. It activates the blood, moves qi, dredges meridians, and alleviates pain. In India and other Asian countries, Jiang Huang has more than 6000?years of application history. In Japan, Jiang Huang has a long history of health care, and the people of Okinawa Island regarded Jiang Huang as a holy tribute to the emperor. Jiang Huang mainly comes from Taiwan, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Tibet of China and other regions in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It grows in warm and humid climate and sunny environment with abundant rainfall and fears cold frost, drought, and flood. At present, Chinese Pharmacopoeia only included Jiang Huang and Yu Jin which contains curcumin, while curcumin is not included.

Description

Curcumin, the bright yellow pigment in turmeric, protects the stomach from tainted foods. It inhibits the growth of?Helicobacter pylori, which has been implicated in gastric and colon cancers, but it can also reduce the effectiveness of chemotherapy.

The Uses of Curcumin

Curcumin is the principal curcuminoid of the popular Indian spice turmeric, which is a member of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae). The curcuminoids are polyphenols and are responsible for the yellow color of turmeric. Curcumin can exist in at least two t

What are the applications of Application

Curcumin is a yellow-orange dye, NOS2 regulator, and inhibitor of NF-κB, 5-LO, Cox-2, COP9, and p300/CBP.

Background

Curcumin, also known as diferuloylmethane, is an active component in the golden spice turmeric (Curcuma longa) and in Curcuma xanthorrhiza oil. It is a highly pleiotropic molecule that exhibits antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, antioxidant, wound-healing, and antimicrobial activities . Due to these properties, curcumin has been investigated for the treatment and supportive care of clinical conditions including proteinuria, breast cancer, multiple myeloma, depression, and Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). Despite proven efficacy against numerous experimental models, poor bioavailability due to poor absorption, rapid metabolism, and rapid systemic elimination have been shown to limit the therapeutic efficacy of curcumin . Curcumin is under investigation for the treatment and supportive care of various clinical conditions including mucositis, rectal cancer, prostate cancer, chronic schizophrenia, and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) .

Indications

No approved therapeutic indications.

What are the applications of Application

Curcumin (Synthetic) is reported to suppress COX-1, COX-2, NF-κB and other inflammatory mediators

Pharmacokinetics

Intravenous application of 25 mg/kg bw curcumin to rats resulted in an increase in bile flow by 80 and 120% . In the rat model of inflammation, curcumin was shown to inhibit edema formation. In nude mouse that had been injected subcutaneously with prostate cancer cells, administration of curcumin caused a marked decrease in the extent of cell proliferation, a significant increase of apoptosis and micro-vessel density . Curcumin may exert choleretic effects by increasing biliary excretion of bile salts, cholesterol, and bilirubin, as well as increasing bile solubility . Curcumin inhibited arachidonic acid-induced platelet aggregation in vitro .

Metabolism

Initially, curcumin undergoes rapid intestinal metabolism to form curcumin glucuronide and curcumin sulfate via O-conjugation. Other metabolites formed include tetrahydrocurcumin, hexahydrocurcumin, and hexahydrocurcuminol via reduction . Curcumin may also undergo intensive second metabolism in the liver where the major metabolites were glucuronides of tetrahydrocurcumin and hexahydrocurcumin, with dihydroferulic acid and traces of ferulic acid as further metabolites . Hepatic metabolites are expected to be excreted in the bile . Certain curcumin metabolites, such as tetrahydrocurcumin, retain anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties .