Curcumin, a diphenolic compound that gives the spice turmeric its characteristic yellow color, has an extensive history of use as a natural remedy in Ayurvedic and ancient Chinese medicine. Indeed, modern science has now confirmed that curcumin possesses diverse pharmaco-logic activities, including anticancer efficacy, when used as a single agent and/or in combination with conventional radio-chemotherapy protocols. Accumulating circumstantial evidence suggests that cur-cumin's anticancer effects occur through interaction with multiple molecular targets and signaling pathways, although experimental evidence for a direct interaction between curcumin and most of these targets has not yet been established. Evidence from preclinical and phase I/II clinical trials have demonstrated that curcumin is relatively safe even at relatively high doses.
展开▼
