Curcumin- The golden nutraceutical
Curcumin, the main active ingredient of turmeric, helps in cancer prevention and treatment. According to sources, curcumin may mediate chemotherapy and chemopreventive effects on cancer through a variety of pathways. The suppression of various cell signalling pathways at multiple levels is part of this dietary compound’s pleiotropic effect. Curcumin enhances caspase activity while suppressing anti-apoptotic genes. Furthermore, complementary DNA microarrays analysis at the genomic level offers a new dimension to the molecular reactions of cancer cells to curcumins.
The current cancer treatment approach is to either combine multiple monotargeted medications or create agents that affect multiple targets. Curcumin has shown activity against a variety of cancer types in human clinical studies due to its multitargeting properties. As per a preclinical studies report, it helps prevent tumour formation in animals.
Safe and effective in colorectal cancer
According to several clinical studies with colorectal cancer cell lines, curcumin is safe and effective in patients with colorectal cancer. So, curcumin’s therapeutic efficacy against colorectal cancer will be confirmed in larger randomized and well-controlled clinical trials.
Pancreatic cancer often develops without early symptoms. It is diagnosed at an advanced stage. Tropical pancreatitis is a kind of chronic pancreatitis that affects people living in tropical areas. Because oxidative stress is one of the causes of tropical pancreatitis, antioxidants may help to alleviate the illness. The effects of oral curcumin with piperine on pain and indicators associated with oxidative stress in patients with tropical pancreatitis were studied in a single-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled research. The researchers found that taking oral curcumin with piperine can help individuals with tropical pancreatitis reverse lipid peroxidation.
Effective in colon cancer
Molecular targets of curcumin derivatives in vivo and in vitro assay results showed that curcumin derivatives exhibited enhanced antiproliferative effects against colon cancer cell lines when compared to curcumins alone. This antiproliferative effect induces cell cycle arrest, necrosis and apoptosis in human colon cancer. These derivatives can also inhibit the growth of colon cancer cells and as a result, can block the cell cycle progression. These derivatives helps in the study to inhibit the aberrant crypt foci (ACF) development and its cell proliferation.
Helps in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer
Breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer in women and it’s very rare in men. Docetaxel, a microtubule inhibitor, helps in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, either alone or in combination with other chemotherapeutic drugs. In an open-label phase I trial, the feasibility and tolerability of the combination of docetaxel and curcumin in patients with advanced and metastatic breast cancer discussed. Curcumin’s therapeutic efficacy may appear to be too good to be true based on the results of completed clinical research. This polyphenol, however, has not yet been approved for human consumption. According to researchers, Poor absorption and mild side effects restricts curcumin’s therapeutic value.
Inhibits cancer metastasis
According to a thorough study, curcumin inhibit metastasis in gastrointestinal cancers by modulating multiple signaling pathways, . Curcumin prevents metastasis through a variety of methods, including inhibiting transcription factors and their signaling pathways, various proteases, inflammatory cytokines, miRNA modification, several protein kinases, and heat shock proteins. Curcumin medication causes a large increase in metastatic tumour cross-sectional volume (70%) and zone size, according to studies (46%). Curcumins may boost LLC’s metastatic growth in mice by increasing VEGF and angiogenic factor levels.
According to curcumin’s effect on cell proliferation and signal transduction pathway activation findings, curcumin suppressed AR, AP-1, NF-B, and CBP transactivation and expression. According to these researchers, curcumin has a lot of potential as an anticancer medication for prostate cancer. Curcumins improved TRAIL’s ability to cause apoptosis in androgen-insensitive PC-3 cells while sensitizing androgen-responsive TRAIL-resistant LNCaP cells to androgen.
Curcumin has been an effective inducer of apoptosis in vitro, with some selectivity for cancer cells. Curcumin has antitumor benefits in those with precancerous lesions or those who are at high risk of developing cancer. This suggests that curcumins is a pharmacologically safe compound that can help in cancer prevention and treatment.
However, It has been proven in both in vitro and in vivo investigations to have hazardous and carcinogenic effects under certain circumstances. Curcumin could potentially affect the efficacy of radiation and chemotherapy.
Conclusion
To summarise, curcumin has the ability to destroy a variety of tumour cell types in a number of different methods. Hence, it employs a variety of cell death mechanisms, making it unlikely that cells will develop resistance to curcumin-induced cell death. Because of its capacity to kill tumour cells but not normal cells, curcumin is a prospective treatment option. Despite several animal studies and clinical trials, additional study can completely comprehend curcumin’s benefits.
