Curcumin – Is curry secretly killing cancer cells in your body?

(Every cooked food item in this picture has turmeric in it! (Source))

From structural and chemical discussions above we know that curcumin exists in different forms; despite the form, the hydroxyl groups are key for its anti-oxidative properties. Its methyl groups have been shown to be essential for anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative (anti-cancer) properties [1].

(Structural features of curcumin involved in binding to protein targets (Source))

Tumor growth inhibition, prevention and proliferation of cancerous cells are some of the main markers for verifying the anti-cancer properties of curcumin in animal cells. In addition to directly affecting cells, curcumin has also been reported to aid in overcoming chemoresistance of in-use anticancer drugs i.e., it acts as a drug resistance preventer by intervening in cancer life cycle.

Anticancer mechanism of bioavailable curcumin against numerous types of cancer (Source))

One important method for cancers metastasis in animal cells is angiogenesis where cancers invade the immune system of a healthy human being and start producing new blood vessels by imitating healthy cells and feed off of the new blood vessels to grow and proliferate. Curcumin has been observed to inhibit several cell pathways selectively by picking up on subtle changes and utilizing genetic pathways either directly or indirectly in tumor microenvironments.

In a nut-shell curcumin induces various modes of cell death either by inhibiting growth and transcription pathways or causing literal brute-force death depending on the mode of invasion and accumulation in the cells.

Cell death primarily occurs via apoptosis (death by suicide) and necrosis (death by injury).

• Apoptosis is also termed as programmed cell death as induction of apoptosis usually sets off a series of biochemical reactions that work in-tandem to cause intrinsic cell death.

• Necrosis on the other hand refers to external factors like trauma, infection or toxins. In the recent past more cell-death mechanisms have been identified to be occurring either in parallel or in-conjunction with apoptosis or necrosis.

So, is cell death as ominous as it sounds? Yes. Do we need to worry about Curcumin killing healthy cells? No. Curcumin and its analogs have been shown to bind to different proteins, enzymes and cellular components selectively to disrupt cellular functioning and thereby preventing proliferation of cancerous cells while circumventing healthy cells and tissues (When administered in responsibly, of course! Extremes of any good thing is bad).

(Cytotoxicity of human breast cancer cells MCF7, MDA MB231, and healthy cells 184A1 (Source))

References:

1. El-Saadony Mohamed T., Yang Tao, Korma Sameh A., Sitohy Mahmoud et. al., Impacts of turmeric and its principal bioactive curcumin on human health: Pharmaceutical, medicinal, and food applications: A comprehensive review. Front. Nutr., 10 January 2023. Sec. Nutrition and Metabolism, Volume 9 - 2022, https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.1040259

2. Bozali K., Guler E. M., Celikten M., Investigation of the effect of curcumin on cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and apoptosis on breast cancer cells WCRJ 2022; 9: e2149 DOI: 10.32113/wcrj_20221_2149