An Overview of Medicinal Value of Curcuma Species

Abstract

Curcuma is a genus of about 100 accepted species in the family Zingiberaceae that contains such species as turmeric and Siam tulip. They are native to Southeast Asia, southern China, ISSN (Online): 2319-7064 ISSN (Online): 2319-7064 naturalized in other warm parts of the world such as Tropical Africa, Central America, Florida, and various islands of the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans. Few known species of Curcuma with reported pharmacological activity are Curcuma longa, Curcuma aeruginosa, Curcuma pseudomontana, Curcuma aromatica, Curcuma xanthorrhiza, Curcuma zedoaria, Curcuma angustifolia. Among them, C. longa is the one species extensively studied and has ancient traditional medicinal uses. These Curcuma species have been used in traditional medicine as a household remedy for various diseases, including biliary disorders, anorexia, cough, diabetic wounds, hepatic disorders, rheumatism, and sinusitis. For the past few decades, extensive work has been done to establish the biological activities and pharmacological actions of Curcuma species and its extracts. This review article is created with an intention to give an overview on the reported research carried out on the Curcuma species such as anticancer activity, antitumor, antitubercular, antibacterial, antimicrobial, toxicity activity, and wound healing. And also, these Curcuma species can be considered as herbal medicinal plant having a plethora of research opportunities based on its traditional use and biological activity.

Phytochemistry and Biological Activities of <i>Curcuma aeruginosa</i> (Roxb.)

“…is a stemless, rhizomatous and aromatic plant that belongs to the family Zingiberaceae and Curcuma genus [20]. The generic name was first established by a Swedish botanist, zoologist, and physician Carl Linnaeus in 1753 [21]. Carl Linnaeus is called a father of taxonomy who formalized binomial nomenclature, and most of the descriptions are in Latin.…”

The Effect of Polyphenolics in Extracts from Natural Materials on Metabolic Activity of Metastatic Melanoma WM-266-4 Cells

“…Much research has been conducted on the anticancer effects of turmeric. Curcumin and turmeric extract reduce the development of animal tumours, as indicated in evaluated experiments in vitro using tissue culture methods and in vivo in mice using Dalton's lymphoma cells [40,41]. Data also suggests that curcumin may take a role as a suppressor for Sp-1 activation and its downstream genes, including ADEM10, calmodulin, EPHB2, HDAC4, and SEPP1 in a concentration-dependent manner in colorectal cancer cell lines, and that curcumin could also act as a suppressor for Sp-1 activity in bladder cancer and decrease DNA binding activity of Sp-1 in non-small cell lung carcinoma cells [42].…”

Variable Secondary Metabolite Profiles Across Cultivars of Curcuma longa L. and C. aromatica Salisb.

“…In Ayurvedic medicine, turmeric is used internally (as a stomachic, tonic, and blood purifier) or externally (prevention and treatment of skin diseases) (Gounder and Lingamallu, 2012). Turmeric was scientifically validated for several pharmacological benefits, including antioxidant, antiinflammatory, and chemoprotective properties (Miquel et al, 2002;Krup et al, 2013;Kanase and Khan, 2018;Umar et al, 2020). The rhizomes of turmeric are enriched with several bioactive metabolites, though the attention was mostly on curcuminoids.…”