title: Perspectives on new synthetic curcumin analogs and their potential anticancer properties.
abstract: Curcumin is the active component of dried rhizome of Curcuma longa, a perennial herb belonging to ginger family, cultivated extensively in south and southeastern tropical Asia. It is widely consumed in the Indian subcontinent, south Asia and Japan in traditional food recipes. Extensive research over last few decades has shown that curcumin is a potent anti-inflammatory agent with powerful therapeutic potential against a variety of cancers. It suppresses proliferation and metastasis of human tumors through regulation of various transcription factors, growth factors, inflammatory cytokines, protein kinases and other enzymes. It induces apoptotic cell death and also inhibits proliferation of cancer cells by cell cycle arrest. Pharmacokinetic data has shown that curcumin undergoes rapid metabolism leading to glucuronidation and sulfation in the liver and excretion in the feces, which accounts for its poor systemic bioavailability. The compound has, therefore, been formulated and administered using different drug delivery systems such as liposomes, micelles, polysaccharides, phospholipid complexes and nanoparticles that can overcome the limitation of bioavailability to some extent. Attempts to avoid rapid metabolism of curcumin until now have been met with limited success. This has prompted researchers to look for new synthetic curcumin analogs in order to overcome the drawbacks of limited bioavailability and rapid metabolism, and gain efficacy with reduced toxicity. In this review we provide a summarized account of novel synthetic curcumin formulations and analogs, and the recent progress in the field of cancer prevention and treatment.
authors.affiliation: ISTRA, Department of Chemistry, Abeda Inamdar College, University of Pune, Pune 411001, India.
authors.forename: Alok
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vyas
authors.forename: Prasad
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dandawate
authors.forename: Subhash
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Padhye
authors.forename: Aamir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.forename: Fazlul
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sarkar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001682:Biological Availability; D001711:Biotransformation; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; D003474:Curcumin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004337:Drug Carriers; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D015394:Molecular Structure; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D004337:Drug Carriers; D003474:Curcumin