European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

DISCOVERY OF CURCUMIN: MIRACULOUS ACTIVITY AS ANTICANCER

Mona Patel* and Ojash Patel

ABSTRACT

Cancer is the second most life-threatening disease and one of the main public health problems worldwide now a day. Despite the great advances in cancer therapy, the incidence and mortality rates of cancer remain high. Therefore, the quest for more efficient and less toxic cancer treatment strategies is still at the forefront of current research. Curcumin, the active ingredient of the Curcuma longa plant, has received great attention over the past two decades as an anticancer agent, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Curcumin has been used either as a single agent or in combination with other agents. Modern science has shown that Curcumin modulates various signalling molecules, including inflammatory molecules, transcription factors, enzymes, protein kinase, protein reductase, carrier proteins, cell survival proteins, drug resistance proteins, adhesion molecules, growth factors, receptors, cell-cycle regulatory proteins, chemokine, DNA, RNA, and metal ions. In this review article, we discuss the discovery and key biological activities (specific as anticancer) of Curcumin, with a particular emphasis on its activities at the molecular, cellular, animal, and human levels. A summary of the medicinal chemistry and pharmacology of Curcumin and its derivatives in regard to anticancer activity and their main mechanisms of action is also described in this review.

Keywords: Cancer, Curcumin, Anticancer, Antioxidant, Anti- inflammatory, Medicinal chemistry, Pharmacology.