Research review discusses anti-cancer properties of turmeric

Reviewed by James Ives, M.Psych. (Editor)Dec 31 2019

Curcumin, a polyphenol extracted from Curcuma longa, also known as turmeric, has gained attention from scientists worldwide for its biological properties as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antiviral agent.

In addition, curcumin's anticancer potential has been the most described and still remains under investigation.

The most significant outcomes have been collected and discussed in the review "Curcumin and Cancer" by Prof. Antonio Giordano, M.D., Ph.D., Founder and Director of the Sbarro Health Research Organization and the Sbarro Institute for Molecular Medicine and Cancer Research at Temple University in Philadelphia, and Professor of Anatomic Pathology at the University of Siena, Italy.

Written together with Dr. Giuseppina Tommonaro of the Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry-National Research Council (ICB-CNR) of Italy, the review was published in October 2019 in the prestigious journal Nutrients.

In the last year, many scientists have discussed the real health benefits of Curcumin, often stimulating very passionate debate, and, with Giuseppina Tommonaro, as scientists involved in studies related to natural compounds and cancer, we wanted to explore the most recent findings on this topic."

Antonio Giordano, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Founder, and Director, Sbarro Health Research

The review has collected studies concerning the anticancer potential of curcumin against the most widespread cancers and also describing the molecular mechanisms of action. Moreover, the problem of bioavailability of curcumin as well as the most recent advances in the clinical use of curcumin and new drug formulations are discussed.

The authors conclude that, thanks to its effects on different signaling pathways and molecular targets involved in the development of several cancers, curcumin represents a promising candidate as an effective anticancer drug, either alone or in combination with other treatments.