Curcumin mediates anticancer effects by modulating multiple cell signaling pathways

Abstract

Curcumin, a component of a spice native to India, was first isolated in 1815 by Vogel and Pelletier from the rhizomes of (turmeric) and, subsequently, the chemical structure of curcumin as diferuloylmethane was reported by Milobedzka et al. [(1910) 43., 2163-2170]. Since then, this polyphenol has been shown to exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal activities. The current review primarily focuses on the anticancer potential of curcumin through the modulation of multiple cell signaling pathways. Curcumin modulates diverse transcription factors, inflammatory cytokines, enzymes, kinases, growth factors, receptors, and various other proteins with an affinity ranging from the pM to the mM range. Furthermore, curcumin effectively regulates tumor cell growth via modulation of numerous cell signaling pathways and potentiates the effect of chemotherapeutic agents and radiation against cancer. Curcumin can interact with most of the targets that are modulated by FDA-approved drugs for cancer therapy. The focus of this review is to discuss the molecular basis for the anticancer activities of curcumin based on preclinical and clinical findings.

The Use of an Efficient Microfluidic Mixing System for Generating Stabilized Polymeric Nanoparticles for Controlled Drug Release

“…Curcumin has many pharmacological effects and has been studied for the treatment of many diseases, such as inflammatory bowel diseases, 31) renal fibrosis, 32) wound healing, 33) and cancer. 34,35) However, the poor bioavailability and stability in serum pumper the therapeutics effect. The nanoparticulation of curcumin is one of the efficient strategies to improve the drug dissolution and bioavailability.…”

Magnolol: A Neolignan from the Magnolia Family for the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer

“…Mother Nature is the origin of 70% of the pharmaceuticals, however, there is a need to explore this vast reserve further for identification of various novel phytochemicals and chemotherapeutic agents for better management of this disease [19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32]. These natural products display inherent anti-cancer properties which emanate from a range of phytochemicals such as alkaloids, diterpenoids, flavonoids, polyphenolic compounds and sesquiterpenes obtained from various medicinal plants, fruits and vegetables [23,27,33,34,35,36,37].…”

Antitumour effects of metformin and curcumin in human papillomavirus positive and negative head and neck cancer cells

“…Contemporary research on both curcumin and metformin show both agents as viable and well‐tolerated treatment options for the treatment and prevention of various cancers, including HNSCC . Very few studies describing combination treatment with both agents have been conducted, but evidence suggests synergistic chemopreventative properties in HNSCC .…”

“…Curcumin is a yellow polyphenol found in the Asian spice turmeric and has been shown to have antioxidant, antiinflammatory, and antitumorigenic properties . Several cell signaling pathways have been implicated in curcumin’s anticancer properties, including NF‐ĸB, STAT3, PI3K/AKT/mTOR, EGFR, Nrf2, Notch 1, WT1, AP‐1, HIF‐1, Wnt/β‐catenin, and EGR‐1 . Curcumin is also thought to alter the activity of several noncoding RNAs and epigenetic regulators.…”