ISSN: 2456-8090 (online)

DOI: 10.26440/IHRJ/0510.01486

Curcumin: A Review of Its’ Effects on Human Health

SANJANA SETH¹, KASHMEERA AGARWAL², ABDUL RAHMAN³

Cite this article as: Seth S, Agarwal K, Rahman A. Curcumin: A Review of Its’ Effects on Human Health. Int Healthc Res J. 2022;5(10):RV1-RV4. https://doi.org/10.26440/IHRJ/0510.01486

Author Affiliations:

1. M.Pharm, Clinical Research Associate, Moga, Punjab, India.
2. M. Sc. (Microbiology), Clinical Research Associate, Moga, Punjab, India.
3. B.Pharm, Independent Researcher, Pabna, Bangladesh.

Contact Corresponding Author at: editor[dot]ihrj[at]gmail[dot]com

INTRODUCTION

Turmeric, commonly referred to as “Indian saffron” or the “golden spice”, is a tall plant commonly found growing in Asia and Central America. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant (Curcuma longa) and belongs to the ginger family.¹ Spices made from the ground roots of the plant are available commercially. Due to its bright yellow color(processed turmeric), it has inspired many cultures to use it as a dye. This spice has received great interest from both the medical/scientific worlds as well as from the culinary world.²

 It is curcumin, a yellow polyphenolic pigment from the Curcuma longa L. (turmeric) rhizome, that has been used an active ingredient for formulating various medicinal preparations, and finds regular use in Ayurveda and Chinese medicine. Interestingly, this natural polyphenol is universally known as the “wonder drug of life”.³ In India, turmeric, which containing curcumin, finds its regular use and consumption in curries, whereas in Japan, it is usually served in tea.  It finds its use in the cosmetics industry in Thailand, while in China, it is used actively used as a colorant and in Korea, served in drinks. Malaysians use it as an antiseptic while in the United States, it is used in various preparations including mustard sauce, butter, cheese and chips. Curcumin is available in several forms including capsules, tablets, ointments, energy drinks, soaps, and cosmetics and is used in daily activities, albeit in many forms.³

In the far east, since ancient times, turmeric has been widely used for treating inflammations of various organs, for problems arising from the liver and digestive tract as well as to treat wound healing. During the 1970_s, the first research on curcumin’s health benefits was documented in the scientific literature. This particular study and studies conducted later reported the fact that curcumin has multiple therapeutic benefits and immense potential medicinal use. However, turmeric was still not commercially available and readily used as a therapeutic agent,⁴  due to its low bioavailability. It was reported that due to the hydrophobic nature of curcumin after oral administration, it triggers a poor absorption rate via the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. While on the other hand, curcumin offers a favourable and encouraging  potential as it is categorized as a Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) material having a stable metabolism and low toxicity among humans.⁵ 

When used as a tonic for dyslipidaemia, stomach disorders, arthritis, hepatic diseases as well a wide variety of other diseases, it was found to provide immense benefits to the patients.⁶ Due to the immense benefits of curcumin listed above, this brief review discusses the health benefits of curcumin in daily as well as medicinal use.  

ANTICANCER PERSPECTIVES

Turmeric,  and its constituent ingredients are being considered as multitargeted phytochemicals in the treatment of cancer as cell functions like apoptosis, autophagy, and cell cycle arrest are affected by its use.⁷ Various authors have documented that various signalling pathways (e.g., p53, Ras, phosphoinositide 3- kinase, AKT, Wnt/β-catenin, and mammalian target of rapamycin) as the anticancer targets of curcumin.⁸  

Colorectal Cancer (CRC): Curcumin can serve as an expedient remedy in the prevention of CRC among obese individuals by stimulating AMP-activated kinase by reducing the appearance of COX-2 protein and subsequently repressing the action of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) on mucosal colon. It also diminishes leptin concentration in the serum and subsequently increases the adiponectin level.⁹ 

Renal Cancer: Long exposure of the cell lining of the human kidneys to 10 μM curcumin have resulted in changes in the swelling-activated chloride current in a dose-dependent manner. Its application induces apoptosis in the human kidney cells by stimulating the emergence of a subpopulation of the cells with amplified volume at a concentration of 5.0–10 μM. Furthermore, 50 μM curcumin has seen to initiate apoptosis and enlarge the size of colorectal adenocarcinoma cells; this cell cycle arrest is attributed to the fact which increases the size of the cell line after post-exposure to curcumin.¹⁰ 

Hepatic Cancer: Curcumin has been reported to target the spindle assembly checkpoint which leads to  initiation of apoptosis in cells having a higher concentration of phosphorylated cell division cycle 27 (CDC27). This phosphorylation of CDC27 is the mechanism by which curcumin exerts its much beneficial anticancer effect.¹¹ 

Bone Cancer: Curcumin has time and again proven its strong antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory properties, which is limited by its low water solubility. As per the results of a controlled study, the preparation and characterization of nanocurcumin using poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid significantly improved the water solubility and antitumor activity of curcumin.^12,13 

Blood and Other Cancers: The initiation of G2/M phase arrest by curcumin was the main reason for an evident reduction in the cyclin A, cyclin B, and cyclin-dependent kinase 1 protein expression. The apoptosis induction by curcumin is escorted with an upregulation of the Bax protein expression as well as the downregulation of the Bcl-2 protein quantity resulting in mitochondria dysfunction, consequently leading to cytochrome c release and sequential activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 in the nasopharyngeal carcinoma-TW 076 cells. As a result of this mechanism, mitochondria and apoptosis-inducing factor caspase-3-dependent pathways are the fundamental figures in G2/M phase arrest and cell apoptosis by curcumin.^14,15 

ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTI-INFLAMMTORY PROPERTIES

Curcumin has been shown to improve systemic markers of oxidative stress  and its effect on free radicals is carried out by several different mechanisms.¹⁵ It acts by scavenging different forms of free radicals, such as reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS, respectively).¹⁶ In addition, curcumin is a lipophilic compound, which makes it an efficient scavenger of peroxyl radicals, therefore, like vitamin E, curcumin is also considered as a chain-breaking antioxidant.¹⁷ Curcumin has also been shown to suppress inflammation through many different mechanisms, thereby supporting its mechanism of action as a potential anti-inflammatory agent.¹⁸ 

ARTHRITIS

Once considered primarily a degenerative and non-inflammatory condition with no cure, a few pharmaceutical therapies are available for treatment of osteoarthritis, many of which are costly and have undesirable side effects. Hence, patients tend to be inclined towards alternative treatments which include the intake of dietary supplements and herbal remedies.¹⁹ Several studies have shown the anti-arthritic effects of curcumin in humans with Osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).^2,20 Irrespective of the mechanism by which curcumin demonstrates its effects, it appears to be beneficial by healing several aspects of OA. Scientific evidence has reports that use of  8–12 weeks of standardized turmeric extracts (1000 mg/day) is beneficial in reducing arthritis symptoms (mainly pain and inflammation-related symptoms) and result in similar improvements in the symptoms as seen with common anti-analgesics like ibuprofen and diclofenac sodium.²¹ 

METABOLIC SYNDROME

Curcumin has been shown to attenuate several aspects of Metabolic Syndrome by improving insulin sensitivity²², suppressing adipogenesis², decreasing blood pressure, inflammation and oxidative stress.²²

SIDE EFFECTS

The natural, trustworthy curcumin has a long-established safety record with the Allowable Daily Intake (ADI) as 0–3 mg/kg body weight [ as per JECFA (The Joint United Nations and World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives) and EFSA (European Food Safety Authority)].²⁴  However, despite its impressive benefits, a few side effects have been reported among subjects receiving doses of 500–12,000 mg of curcumin and followed for 72 hours experienced diarrhea, headache, rash, and yellow stool as side effects.²⁵  In the findings of Sharma RA et al., subjects receiving 0.45 to 3.6 g/day  of curcumin between one to four months documented nausea and diarrhea with an increase in serum alkaline phosphatase and lactate dehydrogenase levels.²⁶ 

CONCLUSIONS

Curcumin, which has been used since ancient times for its health benefits, has stood the test of time and is regularly used in treatment of various diseases, especially where herbal medicines are practiced. Following proper protocols, and proper patient selection, its use can be further encouraged as an alternative to allopathic medicines as it is cheaper and equally effective. 

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