The Essential Medicinal Chemistry of Curcumin

Curcumin is a constituent (up to ∼5%) of the traditional medicine known as turmeric. Interest in the therapeutic use of turmeric and the relative ease of isolation of curcuminoids has led to their extensive investigation. Curcumin has recently been classified as both a PAINS (pan-assay interference compounds) and an IMPS (invalid metabolic panaceas) candidate. The likely false activity of curcumin in vitro and in vivo has resulted in >120 clinical trials of curcuminoids against several diseases. No double-blinded, placebo controlled clinical trial of curcumin has been successful. This manuscript reviews the essential medicinal chemistry of curcumin and provides evidence that curcumin is an unstable, reactive,…

• OO
  Office of Dietary Supplements

  Award: U41AT008706
• MC
  Mayo Clinic
• WH
  World Health Organization
• BA
  Brigham and Women's Hospital
• UO
  University of Minnesota
• UO
  University of Pittsburgh
• UD
  Université de Bordeaux
• NI
  National Institutes of Health
• UO
  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• UO
  University of Illinois at Chicago
• NC
  National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health

  Award: U41AT008706