Therapeutics

Curcumin

Tools

Back to the Top

Overview

Name: Curcumin
Synonyms: diferuloylmethane, Longvida™
Chemical Name: (1E,6E)-1,7-Bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1,6-heptadiene-3,5-dione
Therapy Type: Supplement, Dietary (timeline)
Target Type: Other (timeline), Unknown
Condition(s): Alzheimer's Disease
U.S. FDA Status: Alzheimer's Disease (Phase 2)
Company: Verdure Sciences
Approved for: None

Background

Curcumin, the natural polyphenol that provides the yellow hue to turmeric, has been used in Indian Ayurvedic as well as traditional Chinese and Southeast Asian medicines for centuries to treat a wide variety of ailments. Animal models have demonstrated diverse beneficial effects of the compound, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties as well as inhibiting Aβ aggregation (Yang et al., 2005). Curcumin is in clinical trials for various cognitive conditions, including AD and MCI. 

Findings

Curcumin has many potentially neuroprotective properties. It is described as possessing anti-amyloid properties as well as acting as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound (reviewed in Cole et al., 2007, and Frautschy and Cole, 2010). It has also been reported to promote metal chelation (Baum and Ng, 2004), inhibit tau aggregation (Frautschy and Cole, 2010), and promote neurogenesis (Begum et al., 2008; Kang et al., 2006).

Last Updated: 09 Jan 2014

Comments

No Available Comments

Make a Comment

To make a comment you must login or register.

References

Paper Citations

  1. Cole GM, Teter B, Frautschy SA. Neuroprotective effects of curcumin. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2007;595:197-212. PubMed.
  2. Frautschy SA, Cole GM. Why pleiotropic interventions are needed for Alzheimer's disease. Mol Neurobiol. 2010 Jun;41(2-3):392-409. PubMed.
  3. Baum L, Ng A. Curcumin interaction with copper and iron suggests one possible mechanism of action in Alzheimer's disease animal models. J Alzheimers Dis. 2004 Aug;6(4):367-77; discussion 443-9. PubMed.
  4. Begum AN, Yang F, Teng E, Hu S, Jones MR, Rosario ER, Beech W, Hudspeth B, Ubeda OJ, Cole GM, Frautschy SA. Use of copper and insulin-resistance to accelerate cognitive deficits and synaptic protein loss in a rat Abeta-infusion Alzheimer's disease model. J Alzheimers Dis. 2008 Dec;15(4):625-40. PubMed.
  5. Kang SK, Cha SH, Jeon HG. Curcumin-induced histone hypoacetylation enhances caspase-3-dependent glioma cell death and neurogenesis of neural progenitor cells. Stem Cells Dev. 2006 Apr;15(2):165-74. PubMed.
  6. Yang F, Lim GP, Begum AN, Ubeda OJ, Simmons MR, Ambegaokar SS, Chen PP, Kayed R, Glabe CG, Frautschy SA, Cole GM. Curcumin inhibits formation of amyloid beta oligomers and fibrils, binds plaques, and reduces amyloid in vivo. J Biol Chem. 2005 Feb 18;280(7):5892-901. PubMed.

Further Reading

No Available Further Reading