From a historical stand point:
In the traditional Ayurvedic approach, turmeric was crushed into a paste for the treatment of eye infections, burns, bug bites, and any skin related diseases. Furthermore, new mothers in India and South-east Asia are given a drink containing turmeric paste, honey, ginger, and milk to drink daily following childbirth. Turmeric is also used in different forms to cure cough and respiratory complications, along with dental diseases, flatulence, and indigestion.
(A nice warm turmeric latte on a cold day is always comforting! (Source))
While they may not have had cancer as a term thousands of years ago, there is evidence to suggest that Turmeric formulations were administered to patients experiencing severe imbalance of observable physiological states to help ease symptoms and provide relief [1].
Curcumin was also used as a medicine in ancient Polynesian culture. It has been noted in historical documents that the Polynesian people carried turmeric with them during long voyages to Hawaii. Today, Hawaiians utilize curcumin for various medicinal purposes. It is known to them as Olena.
From a scientific stand point:
The earliest known structure of Curcumin was proposed by Polish researchers Miłobędzka et al., in 1910. Despite identifying and isolating pure curcumin crystals by the late nineteenth century, it wasn’t until the 1970s that research on the therapeutic effects of curcumin was carried out. Curcumin's biological effect in humans is dependent on its bioavailability [1,2]. Curcumin bioavailability studies have documented the amount and concentration at which it is absorbed, exists in blood plasma, and reaches its target area when administered in biological systems.
(Chemical Structure of Curcumin (Source))
Part of the reason for lack of earlier interest in curcumin could be attributed to some drawbacks observed when administering natural curcumin – hydrophobicity, lipophilicity, poor absorption, low bioavailability, high metabolic rates, and quick excretion from the body. Even with empirical evidence encompassing centuries of recorded history, turmeric wasn’t employed as a commercially viable therapeutic until a few decades ago.
To overcome these issues, research efforts have been pivoted towards integrating curcumin into nanoformulations to increase uptake, bioavailability, solubility, circulation, and retention within the body with the help of organic and inorganic approaches – namely – liposomes, polymers, conjugates, micelles, dendrimers, nanoparticles and more.
(An overview of the desired properties and nature of formulations of Curcumin (Source))
In addition to dynamic formulations, efforts are being made towards utilizing the full potential of the molecule to act as a supporting agent when administered in combination with traditional medicine to fight off drug resistance, boost specificity and improve cellular responsiveness [3]. In the last 10 years, more than 10,000 publications related to curcumin-based therapeutics have been submitted to the NCBI PubMed database (Link, accessed 15th May 2024).
Based on observed cell targeting pathways, curcumin was successfully demonstrated to affect numerous signaling entities at the molecular level. It can also cause up- or down-regulation of the nervous system. As a result, it acts on many targets in cellular pathways, resulting in an agent capable of performing various tasks and unfolding several cascades of chain reactions.
(Details of molecular targets mediated by curcumin (A) and important physico-chemical properties and their role in biological functions to remember when producing an effective nanoformulation of curcumin (B) (Source))
References:
Melessa Salem, Sohrab Rohani and Elizabeth R. Gillies (2014). Curcumin, a promising anti-cancer therapeutic: a review of its chemical properties, bioactivity and approaches to cancer cell delivery. RSC Adv., 2014, 4, 10815 –10829, https://doi.org/10.1039/C3RA46396F
Fan, H., Liang, Y., Jiang, B., Li, X., Xun, H., Sun, J. ... Ma, X. (2016). Curcumin inhibits intracellular fatty acid synthase and induces apoptosis in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells. Oncology Reports, 35, 2651-2656. https://doi.org/10.3892/or.2016.4682
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
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