Curcumin Nanoformulations for Colorectal Cancer: A Review.

Siew Ching Ngai,Kar En Wong,Learn-Han Lee,Bey-Hing Goh,Kok-Gan Chan,Lay-Hong Chuah

doi:10.3389/fphar.2019.00152

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most prevalent form of cancer, after lung cancer and breast cancer, with the second highest death incidence. Over the years, natural compounds have been explored as an alternative to conventional cancer therapies such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Curcumin, an active constituent of turmeric has been associated with various health benefits. It has gained much attention as an anticancer agent due to its ability to regulate multiple cell signaling pathways, including NF-κB, STAT3, activated protein-1 (AP-1), epidermal growth response-1 (Egr-1), and p53, which are crucial in cancer development and progression. Nevertheless, the clinical application of curcumin is greatly restricted because of its low water solubility, poor oral absorption, and rapid metabolism. These issues have led to the development of curcumin nanoformulations to overcome the limitations of the compound. Nanotechnology-based delivery systems have been widely used in improving the delivery of poorly-water soluble drugs. Besides, these systems also come with the added benefits of possible cellular targeting and improvement in cellular uptake. An ideal improved formulation should display a greater anticancer activity compared to free curcumin, and at the same time be non-toxic to the normal cells. In this review, we focus on the design and development of various nanoformulations to deliver curcumin for use in CRC such as liposomes, micelles, polymer nanoparticles, nanogels, cyclodextrin complexes, solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN), phytosomes, and gold nanoparticles. We also discuss the current pre-clinical and clinical evidences of curcumin nanoformulations in CRC therapy, analyse the research gap, and address the future direction of this research area.

Highlights

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in the world, ranked after lung and breast cancer; and is the second most common cause of cancer death (WHO, 2018)
Various nanotechnology-based systems, such as liposomes, micelles, polymeric nanoparticles, nanogels, dendrimers, nanoemulsion, cyclodextrin complexes, solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN), phytosomes, gold nanoparticles, and magnetic nanoparticles are being explored in the pursuit to improve aqueous solubility and drug delivery to the pathological site (Bose et al, 2015; Yallapu et al, 2015)
This review focuses on the design and development of various CUR nanoformulations with special emphasis on CRC therapy

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in the world, ranked after lung and breast cancer; and is the second most common cause of cancer death (WHO, 2018). The use of natural compounds such as curcumin (CUR), resveratrol, lycopene, gingerol, and folate has gained much attention as alternatives to conventional therapies. These natural compounds have been shown to possess chemopreventive and/or anticancer activities with minimal side effects (Guilford and Pezzuto, 2008). Clinical use of CUR is often restricted due to its low water solubility, resulting in poor absorption following oral administration (Anand et al, 2007) It is rapidly metabolized by the liver and excreted in the feces (Metzler et al, 2013). The key properties of CUR, pharmacokinetics and efficacy of CUR nanoformulations in CRC conducted in vitro and in vivo are discussed, as well as clinical trials of CUR nanoformulations on CRC

BACKGROUND

Findings

CONCLUSION