Abstract
There is increasing interest in the use of natural compounds with beneficial pharmacological effects for managing diseases. Curcumin (CUR) is a phytochemical that is reportedly effective against some cancers through its ability to regulate signaling pathways and protein expression in cancer development and progression. Unfortunately, its use is limited due to its hydrophobicity, low bioavailability, chemical instability, photodegradation, and fast metabolism. Nanoparticles (NPs) are drug delivery systems that can increase the bioavailability of hydrophobic drugs and improve drug targeting to cancer cells via different mechanisms and formulation techniques. In this review, we have discussed various CUR-NPs that have been evaluated for their potential use in treating cancers. Formulations reviewed include lipid, gold, zinc oxide, magnetic, polymeric, and silica NPs, as well as micelles, dendrimers, nanogels, cyclodextrin complexes, and liposomes, with an emphasis on their formulation and characteristics. CUR incorporation into the NPs enhanced its pharmaceutical and therapeutic significance with respect to solubility, absorption, bioavailability, stability, plasma half-life, targeted delivery, and anticancer effect. Our review shows that several CUR-NPs have promising anticancer activity; however, clinical reports on them are limited. We believe that clinical trials must be conducted on CUR-NPs to ensure their effective translation into clinical applications.
Highlights
According to Global Cancer Incidence, Mortality and Prevalence (GLOBOCAN) 2020, over 19.3 million new cancer cases were diagnosed globally in 2020, with nearly 10.0 million deaths attributed to this statistic [1]
ATP-citrate lyase (ACLY) activation is promoted by increased levels of glucose and insulin-like growth factors, which subsequently intervene in cancer progression [87]
Pectin modification significantly increased the cellular uptake of the NPs, especially at low CUR concentrations [137]. These results show that MCPC-CURNPs may be beneficial in the management of Colorectal Cancer (CRC)
Summary
According to Global Cancer Incidence, Mortality and Prevalence (GLOBOCAN) 2020, over 19.3 million new cancer cases were diagnosed globally in 2020, with nearly 10.0 million deaths attributed to this statistic [1]. To overcome the aforementioned constraints, chemotherapeutic agents from plants are becoming serious contenders as chemotherapeutic alternatives due to their manifestation of reduced toxicity to adjoining cells [14] while still providing potent anticancer effects in some cases One such chemotherapeutic agent is curcumin (CUR), a major chemical constituent in turmeric, which has received much attention in the past decades because of its use in Indian and Chinese traditional medicine for centuries to treat a variety of conditions including infections, inflammation, and depression. Metabolic degradation prior to absorption within the intestine and liver, which minimizes its usefulness following oral intake
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