Curcumin In Prevention Research Articles

Role of Turmeric and Curcumin in Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Diseases: Lessons Learned from Clinical Trials.

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) has been used for thousands of years for the prevention and treatment of various chronic diseases. Curcumin is just one of >200 ingredients in turmeric. Almost 7000 scientific papers on turmeric and almost 20,000 on curcumin have been published in PubMed. Scientific reports based on cell culture or animal studies are often not reproducible in humans. Therefore, human clinical trials are the best indicators for the prevention and treatment of a disease using a given agent/drug. Herein, we conducted an extensive literature survey on PubMed and Scopus following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The keywords "turmeric and clinical trials" and "curcumin and clinical trials" were considered for data mining. A total of 148 references were found to be relevant for the key term "turmeric and clinical trials", of which 70 were common in both PubMed and Scopus, 44 were unique to PubMed, and 34 were unique to Scopus. Similarly, for the search term "curcumin and clinical trials", 440 references were found to be relevant, of which 70 were unique to PubMed, 110 were unique to Scopus, and 260 were common to both databases. These studies show that the golden spice has enormous health and medicinal benefits for humans. This Review will extract and summarize the lessons learned about turmeric and curcumin in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases based on clinical trials.

LP-26 Effect of Synthetic Curcumin in Prevention of Induction of Inflammatory and Oxidative Response Caused by Acrolein in the Small Intestine of Rats

LP-26 Effect of Synthetic Curcumin in Prevention of Induction of Inflammatory and Oxidative Response Caused by Acrolein in the Small Intestine of Rats

Research progress of curcumin in the prevention and treatment of periodontitis

Curcumin is a plant-derived polyphenol extracted from the rhizome of turmeric. As curcumin has such favorable properties as anti-inflammation, anti-oxidation, anti-angiogenesis, immune regulation, anti-bacterial and pro-apoptosis and showed few side effects, the application of curcumin in prevention and treatment of periodontal diseases is promising. This article reviewed the research progress of curcumin in the prevention and treatment of periodontitis.

Possible Ameliorating Effect of Curcumin on the Pancreas of Experimentally Induced Hypothyroidism in Rat: Histological, Immunohistochemical and Biochemical Study

Abstract Background: Hypothyroidism is reported as the most common thyroid disease in humans which is caused by thyroid hormones deficiency. Aim of Study: To evaluate the role of curcumin in preven-tion of the possible histopathological, immunohistochemical, and biochemical changes on the pancreas of experimentally induced hypothrodism in adult male rat. Material and Methods: Forty adult male albino rats weighing (150-200gm) were allotted in four groups, ten animals each. Group 1 (control group) received no medication, Group II (curcumin group) were given curcumin 100mg/kg/b.w orally by gastric gavage for 6 weeks Group III: (Hypothyroid group) was rendered hypothyroid by administration of pro-pylthiouracil (PTU) (Thyrocil) 15mg/kg b.w orally by gavage for 6 weeks. Group IV (hypothyroid and curcumin treated group) received the same dose of PTU for 6 weeks with the addition of curcumin starting 2 weeks after PTU administration (after confirmation of the hypothyroidism state) to the sixth week. The pancreas was dissected out and subjected to histo-logical and immunohistochemical study. Results: The pancreas of hypothyroid rats showed histo-logical changes in the form of pale small size islets. Inside the islets the cells appeared vacuolated with pyknosis of their nuclei. Immunohistchemical study showing a decreased number of insulin-immunoreactivity. Biochemical results revealed a significant decreased pancreatic tissue Superoxide dismutase, reduced glutathione, Catalase, Glutathione-S-transferase and Glutathione peroxidase as well as increased pancreatic tissue Malondialdehyde compared with those of controls. Hypothy-roid and curcumin group revealed an improvement in these histological, immunohistochemical and biochemical changes. Conclusion: Data so far obtained indicated that Curcumin has antioxidant effect that could possibly account for its potential in the current study to ameliorate all the histological, Immunohistochemical and biochemical parameters altered by hypothyroidism.

The Role of Curcumin in Prevention and Management of Metastatic Disease.

In the last two decades, targeted therapies have enhanced tumor patient care and treatment success, however, metastatic growth still cannot be stopped efficiently and, therefore, mortality rates remain high. Prevention strategies against formation of metastases are the most promising approach we have, however, due to lack of clinical validation studies, they have not yet entered routine clinical care. In order to smooth the way for efficient prevention, further preclinical and large clinical studies are required. In this context, the underlying molecular mechanisms and factors that lead to metastatic growth have to be explored, and potential preventive agents have to be tested. Thereby, special attention has to be paid to natural bioactive compounds which do not exert major adverse effects, like the plant-derived polyphenol Curcumin, which is known to be a powerful antitumor agent. So far, most of the preclinical studies with Curcumin have focused on its effect on inhibiting tumor cell proliferation and invasion, although, it is known that it also inhibits metastatic spread in vivo. This review discusses the preventive potential of this natural compound not only against tumor onset, but also against formation of metastases.

Use of curcumin in diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

This review summarizes and describes the use of curcumin in diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. For diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, amyloid-β and highly phosphorylated tau protein are the major biomarkers. Curcumin was developed as an early diagnostic probe based on its natural fluorescence and high binding affinity to amyloid-β. Because of its multi-target effects, curcumin has protective and preventive effects on many chronic diseases such as cerebrovascular disease, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. For prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease, curcumin has been shown to effectively maintain the normal structure and function of cerebral vessels, mitochondria, and synapses, reduce risk factors for a variety of chronic diseases, and decrease the risk of Alzheimer's disease. The effect of curcumin on Alzheimer's disease involves multiple signaling pathways: anti-amyloid and metal iron chelating properties, antioxidation and anti-inflammatory activities. Indeed, there is a scientific basis for the rational application of curcumin in prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

In Vitro-In Vivo Dose Response of Ursolic Acid, Sulforaphane, PEITC, and Curcumin in Cancer Prevention.

According to the National Center of Health Statistics, cancer was the culprit of nearly 600,000 deaths in 2016 in the USA. It is by far one of the most heterogeneous diseases to treat. Treatment for metastasized cancers remains a challenge despite modern diagnostics and treatment regimens. For this reason, alternative approaches are needed. Chemoprevention using dietary phytochemicals such as triterpenoids, isothiocyanates, and curcumin in the prevention of initiation and/or progression of cancer poses a promising alternative strategy. However, significant challenges exist in the extrapolation of in vitro cell culture data to in vivo efficacy in animal models and to humans. In this review, the dose at which these phytochemicals elicit a response in vitro and in vivo of a multitude of cellular signaling pathways will be reviewed highlighting Nrf2-mediated antioxidative stress, anti-inflammation, epigenetics, cytoprotection, differentiation, and growth inhibition. The in vitro-in vivo dose response of phytochemicals can vary due, in part, to the cell line/animal model used, the assay system of the biomarker used for the readout, chemical structure of the functional analog of the phytochemical, and the source of compounds used for the treatment study. While the dose response varies across different experimental designs, the chemopreventive efficacy appears to remain and demonstrate the therapeutic potential of triterpenoids, isothiocyanates, and curcumin in cancer prevention and in health in general.

Inhibitory effect of curcumin on invasion of skin squamous cell carcinoma A431 cells.

To investigate the regulatory effect of curcumin on expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) in skin squamous cell carcinoma tissues as well as possible mechanisms of curcumin in prevention and treatment of skin squamous cell carcinoma. Highly invasive A431 cells were treated with curcumin at various doses .The cytotoxic effects of treatment with 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 50 umol/L curcumin for 24, 48 and 72 hours on A431 cells were measured by MTT assay. The invasion capacity of cells treated with 5, 10 and 15 umol/L curcumin was measured by Transwell test, while adhesive ability was assessed by cell adhesion assay. The effects of 5,10 and 15 umol/L curcumin on expression levels of STAT3 were determined by Western blotting and on transcription levels of STAT3 mRNA by RT-PCR. Treatment with curcumin at a doses of more than 15 umol/L for more than 24 hour inhibited the growth of A431 cells in a time-and dose-dependent fashion (p<0.001). The doses of 15 umol/L and less for 24 hours showed no significant cytotoxic effects on the cells, survival rates being more than 85%.The invasion and adhesive abilities decreased gradually with the increasing curcumin concentration, 15 umol/L exerting the strongest inhibitory effects (p<0.05). Curcumin showed significant dose-dependent inhibitory effects on the transcription level of STAT3 mRNA (p<0.05). Curcumin may reduce the invasive ability of A431 cells by inhibiting the activation of STAT3 signal pathway and expression of STAT3 as a target gene in the pathway.

Prophylactic Administration of Curcumin Abates the Incidence of Hypobaric Hypoxia Induced Pulmonary Edema in Rats: A Molecular Approach

Background and purpose: High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) is a severe high altitude illness with serious pulmonary manifestations. The present study reports benefits of prophylactic administration of curcumin in prevention of hypoxia induced pulmonary edema. Experimental approach: Male Sprague Dawley rats (n=6 per group) were exposed to a stimulated hypobaric hypoxia at 7620 m for 6 h. The groups studied were (I) Normoxia, (II) Hypoxia (6 h), (III) Normoxia+curcumin (50 mg/kg BW) and (IV) Hypoxia+curcumin (50 mg/kg BW). Curcumin at 50 mg/kg BW, given orally 1 h prior to hypoxia exposure was considered from dose dependent studies as the optimum dose, due to significant reduction in the level of lung water content and lung transvascular leakage (p<0.001) as compared to control (6 h hypoxia). Biochemical analysis, vascular leakage studies, differential expression of proteins were determined by ELISA, Western Blotting and Immunohistochemistry. Changes in lung parenchyma were evaluated by histopathology. Results: Curcumin administration (50 mg/kg BW) to rats, 1 h prior to hypoxic exposure showed a significant decrease in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), albumin extravasation in broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, oxidative stress (ROS and MDA) levels along with concomitant increase in antioxidant status (GSH, GPx and SOD) in lungs of rats compared to control. Curcumin significantly attenuated the IKKαβ , IKBβ there by leading to down regulation of NFκB protein levels and their downstream regulatory genes (pro-inflammatory cytokines and cell adhesion molecules). Further, hypoxia enhanced HIF-1α and VEGF levels in lungs were significantly down regulated by curcumin leading to reduction in vascular leakage in lungs of rats under hypoxia over control (Hypoxia). The histopathological observations provide substantial evidence in reduction of edema and inflammation by curcumin treatment. Conclusion: These results indicate that, curcumin to be a potent drug against HAPE as it effectively attenuates inflammation as well as fluid influx in the lungs of rats under hypoxia.

Curcumin consumption reduces gut microbial diversity among patients with colorectal adenomas

Preclinical studies suggest a role for curcumin in prevention of CRC, but there are few human studies to confirm its effects. Much of our diet is metabolized by gut bacteria, and bacterial dysbiosis is associated with colorectal adenomas, CRC precursors. We hypothesized that curcumin alters the gut microbiota. We assessed the composition of mucosally‐adherent bacteria in participants with (21 case) and without adenoma (14 control) before and after curcumin intake (4g/day for 4 weeks). Non‐prepped, rectal mucosal biopsies were used to assess bacterial profiles by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism as well as qPCR of common gut bacterial groups. Bacterial diversity was reduced at follow‐up compared to baseline (p= 0.03). We observed reduction in copy numbers of all bacterial groups among cases following curcumin intervention; 47% E. coli, 30.7% Clostridium, 33% Bacteroides, 26% Eubacterium, 22% Bifidobacterium, and 20% Lactobacillus. Curcumin administration can reduce the adherent bacterial diversity in patients with colonic adenomas. Further understanding of the relationship between bacterial diversity and CRC may support a role for the chemopreventive properties of curcumin. Funding support by NIH P30 DK 034987, R01 CA136887, R01 CA044684, P50CA106991.

Therapeutic role of curcumin in prevention of biochemical and behavioral aberration induced by alcoholic neuropathy in laboratory animals

Painful peripheral neuropathy induced by chronic ethanol consumption is a major medico-socioeconomical problem. The objective of present investigation was to study the effect of curcumin (20, 40 and 80mg/kg; p.o.) in alcohol-induced neuropathy in rats. Ethanol (35% v/v, 10g/kg; p.o.) was administered for 10 weeks which showed a significant decrease in thermal hyperalgesia, mechanical hyperalgesia, mechanical allodynia and nerve conduction velocity. It caused enhanced malondialdehyde, oxidative-nitrosative stress, total calcium levels, inflammatory mediators (TNF-α and IL-1β levels) along with DNA damage. Co-administration of curcumin and α-tocopherol for 10 weeks significantly and dose-dependently improved nerve functions, biochemical as well as molecular parameters and DNA damage in sciatic nerve of ethanol treated rats. Hence, it was concluded that curcumin is of potent therapeutic value in the amelioration of alcoholic neuropathy in rats and acts by inhibition of pro-inflammatory mediators like TNF-α and IL-1β.

Curcumin Protects against Ovariectomy-Induced Bone Changes in Rat Model.

Osteoporosis is a metabolic disease affecting both men and women especially in postmenopausal women. Curcumin possesses many medicinal properties. In this study, thirty two female Sprague-Dawley rats were used to determine the potential effect of curcumin in prevention of bone loss following ovariectomy. The animals were divided into Sham group, ovariectomised control, ovariectomised treated with curcumin 110 mg/kg and ovariectomised treated with Premarin 100 μg/kg. The treatments were given via daily oral gavages for 60 days. The structural parameters such as bone volume, trabecular number, trabecular thickness and trabecular separation were found to be deteriorated in ovariectomised rats compared to Sham group. Moreover, the reduced osteoblast count, the increased osteoclast count and increased eroded surface were found in ovariectomised groups. Treatment with curcumin was able to reverse all these ovariectomy-induced deteriorations. Curcumin treatment was as effective as Premarin in most parameters except the bone volume and eroded surface, which were better than Premarin. The high dose of curcumin treatment was not only able to reduce the osteoclast number but also increase the osteoblast count. Therefore, the potential effect of curcumin can be applied as an alternative to oestrogen for prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Potential of the Dietary Antioxidants Resveratrol and Curcumin in Prevention and Treatment of Hematologic Malignancies

Despite considerable improvements in the tolerance and efficacy of novel chemotherapeutic agents, the mortality of hematological malignancies is still high due to therapy relapse, which is associated with bad prognosis. Dietary polyphenolic compounds are of growing interest as an alternative approach, especially in cancer treatment, as they have been proven to be safe and display strong antioxidant properties. Here, we provide evidence that both resveratrol and curcumin possess huge potential for application as both chemopreventive agents and anticancer drugs and might represent promising candidates for future treatment of leukemia. Both polyphenols are currently being tested in clinical trials. We describe the underlying mechanisms, but also focus on possible limitations and how they might be overcome in future clinical use – either by chemically synthesized derivatives or special formulations that improve bioavailability and pharmacokinetics.

Effect of curcumin in the prevention of experimentally induced nephrolithiasis in rats by ethylene glycol and Vitamin D3

Curcumin (CMN) is known to have beneficial role in anorexia, coryza, cough, diabetic wounds, and hepatic disorders apart from its inherent antioxidant effects. Therefore, the present study was aimed to evaluate antioxidant effect of CMN in prevention of nephrolithiasis in rats-induced by ethylene glycol (EG) and Vitamin D3 (Vit. D3). Male Wistar rats (175 - 200 g) were randomized in groups like control, EG + Vit. D3 induced nephrolithiatiatic rats, CMN treated rats, CMN + EG + Vit. D3 treated rats, Vit. E + EG + Vit. D3 treated rats. Urine was collected weekly throughout the experimental protocol and estimated for calcium oxalate (CaO) count. After completion of experimental protocol serum was estimated for blood urea nitrogen and creatinine. Both the kidneys were excised and used to evaluate levels of biomarkers of oxidative stress and calcium oxalate crystal deposition by histopathological studies. Administration of EG and Vit. D3 to rats resulted in increased oxidative stress, hyperoxaluria and renal deposition of CaO crystals. Supplementation with CMN improves kidney function, reduces elevated oxidative stress, urinary oxalate level and renal deposition of CaO which shows its protective action in nephrolithiasis. The increased deposition of stone in the kidney and stone forming constituents of nephrolithiatic rats were effectively lowered by treatment of CMN.

Curcumin improves vascular function and alleviates oxidative stress in non-lethal lipopolysaccharide-induced endotoxaemia in mice

Oxidative stress is implicated in various pathological conditions, including septic shock, and other diseases associated with local or systemic inflammation. Curcumin, a major component from turmeric ( Curcuma longa), possesses diverse anti-inflammatory, anti-tumour and antioxidant properties. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of curcumin on modulation of vascular dysfunction and oxidative stress induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in mice. Male ICR mice were treated with curcumin (50 or 100 mg/kg), administered intragastrically, either before or after intraperitoneal injection of LPS (10 mg/kg). Fifteen hours after LPS administration, arterial blood pressure was measured and vascular response to vasoactive agents were assessed. Aortic tissues and blood samples were taken for assays of antioxidant and oxidative stress markers. LPS caused marked hypotension, tachycardia and vascular hyporeactivity. The mean arterial pressures in responses to phenylephrine, acetylcholine, and sodium nitroprusside of LPS-treated mice were significantly decreased when compared with the untreated controls. Curcumin modulated heart rate and restored arterial blood pressure in a dose-dependent manner in both protectively- and therapeutically-treated regimens. Furthermore, the vascular responsiveness of LPS-treated mice was improved by curcumin. Interestingly, the improvements of haemodynamics and vascular response during endotoxaemia were related to alleviation of oxidative stress by reducing aortic-derived superoxide production, suppression of lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation, and decrease in urinary nitric oxide metabolites with preservation of the ratio of glutathione/glutathione disulfide. This study provides the first evidence for the potential role of curcumin in prevention and treatment of vascular dysfunction in mice with endotoxaemia elicited by LPS.