Abstract
Curcumin, one of the most studied chemopreventive agents, is a natural compound extracted from Curcuma longa L. Extensive research over the last half century has revealed that curcumin can inhibit the proliferation of various tumor cells in culture, prevent carcinogen induced cancers in rodents and inhibit the growth of human tumors in xenotransplant or orthotransplant animal models. Several phase I and phase II clinical trials indicated that curcumin is quite safe and may exhibit therapeutic efficacy. The utility of curcumin is limited by its lack of water solubility and relatively low in vivo bioavailability. Multiple approaches including nanoparticles, liposomes, micelles and phospholipid complexes are being sought to overcome these limitations. This review describes the general properties of curcumin and its potential effect against cancer including evidences of its antitumor action in vitro, in vivo, clinically and the strategies to overcome its low bioavailability.
Keywords: Curcumin, Chemoprevention, Anti-cancer, Formulation, hexahydrocurcumin, gastrointestinal cancers, tyrosine-phosphorylation, carcinogenic, bioavailability, egg-phosphatidylcholine
Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry
Title: Curcumin and its Formulations: Potential Anti-Cancer Agents
Volume: 12 Issue: 3
Author(s): Jun-Ling Ji, Xian-Feng Huang and Hai-Liang Zhu
Affiliation:
Keywords: Curcumin, Chemoprevention, Anti-cancer, Formulation, hexahydrocurcumin, gastrointestinal cancers, tyrosine-phosphorylation, carcinogenic, bioavailability, egg-phosphatidylcholine
Abstract: Curcumin, one of the most studied chemopreventive agents, is a natural compound extracted from Curcuma longa L. Extensive research over the last half century has revealed that curcumin can inhibit the proliferation of various tumor cells in culture, prevent carcinogen induced cancers in rodents and inhibit the growth of human tumors in xenotransplant or orthotransplant animal models. Several phase I and phase II clinical trials indicated that curcumin is quite safe and may exhibit therapeutic efficacy. The utility of curcumin is limited by its lack of water solubility and relatively low in vivo bioavailability. Multiple approaches including nanoparticles, liposomes, micelles and phospholipid complexes are being sought to overcome these limitations. This review describes the general properties of curcumin and its potential effect against cancer including evidences of its antitumor action in vitro, in vivo, clinically and the strategies to overcome its low bioavailability.
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Cite this article as:
Ji Jun-Ling, Huang Xian-Feng and Zhu Hai-Liang, Curcumin and its Formulations: Potential Anti-Cancer Agents, Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry 2012; 12 (3) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/187152012800228733
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/187152012800228733 |
Print ISSN 1871-5206 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1875-5992 |
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