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The Role of Curcumin in Modern Medicine

  • Chapter
Herbal Drugs: Ethnomedicine to Modern Medicine

Abstract

Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is an orange-yellow component of turmeric (Curcuma longa), a spice often found in curry powder. Since the time of Ayurveda numerous therapeutic activities have been assigned to turmeric for a wide variety of diseases and conditions, including those of the skin, pulmonary, and gastrointestinal systems, aches, pains, wounds, sprains, and liver disorders. Curcumin has been shown to exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and thus has a potential against various malignant cancers, diabetes, allergies, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, and other chronic illnesses. These effects are mediated through the regulation of various transcription factors, growth factors, inflammatory cytokines, protein kinases, and other enzymes. Thus, curcumin, by virtue of its effect on multiple cell signaling pathways, could prove to be a panacea for modern human diseases.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Letter Cytokine Research Laboratory Departments of Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Texas Cancer Center 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX 77030, USA

    Gautam Sethi, Bokyung Sung & Bharat B. Aggarwal

Authors
  1. Gautam Sethi
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  2. Bokyung Sung
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  3. Bharat B. Aggarwal
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Botany Dept, M.L. Sukhadia University, Udaipur-313002, India

    K.G. Ramawat (Prof. Dr.) (Prof. Dr.)

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Sethi, G., Sung, B., Aggarwal, B.B. (2009). The Role of Curcumin in Modern Medicine. In: Ramawat, K. (eds) Herbal Drugs: Ethnomedicine to Modern Medicine. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79116-4_7

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