Navigation
Obstacles against the marketing of Curcumin as a drug
This 2020 review article explores the scientific research conducted so far on curcumin, an active compound of the perennial herb Curcuma longa. While scientists have examined the therapeutic effects of countless natural compounds on chronic human diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative disease, curcumin is of particular interest because of its diversity of molecular targets. However, the clinical effectiveness of curcumin is weak due to its low bioavailability (proportion that enters the bloodstream) and rapid metabolism. When given orally, animal-based studies and phase 1 clinical studies have discovered that little curcumin is absorbed by the intestine, and that it is metabolized by the intestine as well as the liver. Researchers have tried to improve the bioavailability of curcumin through various methods over the last decade. Thus, there are several enhanced curcumin-based formulations ranging in terms of bioavailability. Finally, this review discusses the pharmacokinetics of curcumin (data concerning the movement of drugs around the body) and the problems that exist for marketing curcumin as a drug. [NPID: herbs, curcumin, Curcuma, cancer, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, pharmacokinetics]
Year: 2020
