curcumin

Overview

Curcumin, a polyphenolic compound derived from the rhizome of Curcuma longa (turmeric), is recognized for its diverse biological activities and potential therapeutic applications. It exhibits anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer properties, making it a subject of extensive research in various fields of medicine. The mechanism of action of curcumin involves modulation of multiple signaling pathways, including the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway, transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), and the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, which play critical roles in inflammation, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. Due to its hydrophobic nature and poor bioavailability, curcumin's clinical application has been limited, prompting the development of novel delivery systems to enhance its therapeutic efficacy.

Focus of Latest Publications

Recent publications have focused extensively on overcoming curcumin's poor bioavailability through advanced nano-formulation strategies. Studies have developed nanocrystals grafted with hyaluronic acid for mucosal delivery, lignin-based Pickering emulsions with enhanced retention, protein-polysaccharide nanocomposites for intestinal targeting, and beta-glucan nanoparticles prepared by wet milling. Additional platforms include chitosan-based carriers with pH-responsive release, alginate nanocapsules with co-loaded chemotherapeutic agents, and curcumin-loaded extracellular vesicles derived from lactic acid bacteria. These formulations consistently demonstrated improved drug loading capacity, enhanced bioavailability, and superior therapeutic efficacy compared to free curcumin across multiple disease models.

A significant body of work has investigated curcumin's neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory mechanisms in acute brain injury and chronic neurological disease. Nanocurcumin formulations attenuated brain injury in exertional heat stroke by suppressing the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway and normalizing neuroendocrine dysfunction. Similarly, curcumin mitigated gas explosion-induced traumatic brain injury through modulation of inflammatory cytokines and cAMP signaling pathways, as revealed by integrated transcriptomic and proteomic analyses. However, gestational exposure to environmental toxicants was shown to exacerbate post-traumatic epileptogenesis and substantially diminish curcumin's therapeutic efficacy. Curcumin was also identified in bibliometric surveys as a promising natural agent for Alzheimer's disease treatment, alongside mechanisms involving multi-target network pharmacology approaches.

In oncology and cardiovascular disease, curcumin has been evaluated both as a standalone agent and in combination with conventional therapeutics. Curcumin attenuated heatstroke-induced myocardial injury and ventricular arrhythmias through inhibition of the BAX/BCL-2/caspase-3 apoptotic pathway. Studies of depression-aggravated psoriasis revealed matrix metalloproteinase-9 as a central causal gene, with molecular docking confirming strong binding of curcumin to MMP9. In atherosclerosis models, curcumin reduced foam cell formation by inhibiting P2X7R-mediated inflammatory signaling in macrophages. Multi-modal delivery systems including ROS-responsive polydrug copolymers co-delivering curcumin and cinnamaldehyde achieved tumor growth inhibition rates up to 86% through synergistic disruption of mitochondrial redox homeostasis. Curcumin-loaded nanocarriers demonstrated enhanced efficacy in breast cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and melanoma models, with biotin-conjugated targeting moieties enabling blood-brain barrier crossing and glioblastoma-selective delivery.

Curcumin's therapeutic potential extended to inflammatory bowel disease, where curcumin-loaded extracellular vesicles from lactic acid bacteria significantly alleviated disease symptoms and favorably modulated the gut microbiota in a colitis model. In dermatology, polysaccharide-based soluble microneedles incorporating mesoporous polydopamine nanoparticles achieved 99.4% antibacterial activity against Propionibacterium acnes when combined with photothermal therapy. A multifunctional tetrahedral framework nucleic acid platform co-delivering curcumin and defensin demonstrated triple therapeutic effects in periodontitis by eliminating pathogens, reducing inflammation, and promoting osteogenesis. Computational screening identified curcumin among multi-target natural compounds with validated efficacy against type 2 diabetes through both insulin resistance and insulin secretion pathways. Additionally, metabolic engineering of Nicotiana benthamiana successfully produced curcuminoids in physiologically relevant ratios, providing a platform for plant-based synthesis to overcome precursor availability limitations in microbial systems.

Key Publications

NEWJul Nanocurcumin attenuates brain injury in rats with desert dry‑heat‑induced exertional heat stroke by suppressing TLR4/MyD88/NF‑κB signaling. (Molecular medicine reports, 2026, PMID 42396648): "Curcumin exhibits anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects; however, poor bioavailability limits its clinical application."
NEWJul Gestational deltamethrin exposure exacerbates post-traumatic epileptiform activity and social deficits, diminishing the therapeutic efficacy of curcumin in rats. (Metabolic brain disease, 2026, PMID 42384231): "...evaluates whether it compromises the neuroprotective efficacy of curcumin."
NEWJun Quantifying the High-Affinity Partitioning of Curcumin in POPC Membranes: Distinguishing Surface Adsorption from Micellar Sequestration by Pluronic F-127. (The journal of physical chemistry. B, 2026, PMID 42324759): "This study utilizes curcumin as an intrinsic fluorescence probe to directly quantify membrane partitioning and accessibility in 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) liposomes."
NEWJun Preparation of pH-Responsive Chromogenic Nanoreagent for the Diagnosis of Ovarian Cancer. (Analytical chemistry, 2026, PMID 42319083): "...a pH-responsive chromogenic nanoparticle with high curcumin (CUR) loading capacity and good dispersion is prepared..."
NEWJul Covalent grafting of hyaluronic acid on drug nanocrystals for mucosal delivery. (Journal of materials chemistry. B, 2026, PMID 42300103): "In this study, we explore the development of curcumin nanocrystals (CUR-NCs) covalently grafted with hyaluronic acid (HA)."
NEWJun Construction of electrostatic networks using bamboo-derived lignin nanoparticles and NaCl for stabilizing Pickering emulsions and enhanced curcumin retention. (International journal of biological macromolecules, 2026, PMID 42264249): "Using curcumin as a model bioactive compound, the LNPs/NaCl-stabilized system demonstrated high curcumin retention together with improved thermal stability (85.09% retention at 60 °C) and strong UV resistance (88.96% after 72 h)."
Jun Curcumin alleviates depression-aggravated psoriasis by targeting MMP9-regulated apoptotic pathways. (iScience, 2026, PMID 42231964): "Molecular docking predicted strong binding of curcumin to MMP9, and subsequent in vivo intervention demonstrated that curcumin downregulated MMP9 expression and alleviated both pathological conditions."
Jun Effects of dietary methionine, betaine, and turmeric extract on growth performance, myogenic gene expression, serum protein profile, and intestinal histomorphology in broiler chickens. (Tropical animal health and production, 2026, PMID 42223732): "This study investigated the integrated physiological, molecular, and intestinal responses of broiler chickens to dietary supplementation with DL-methionine, betaine, and turmeric extract."
May Bibliometric analysis of natural medicine in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease: Trends, hotspots, and emerging research fields. (Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2026, PMID 42216664): "Promising natural agents include Ginkgo biloba, ginseng, curcumin, resveratrol, and Centella asiatica."
Jul Curcumin nanoparticles combined with narlumosbart regulate wingless-type MMTV integration site (wnt)/β-catenin signaling pathway in osteoblast-like cells. (Pakistan journal of pharmaceutical sciences, 2026, PMID 42170973): "Given the potential of curcumin nanoparticles to inhibit cell growth when applied alone."

Show 45 more publications

Jun Extracellular vesicles targeting EGFR inhibit MAOA expression and activity by delivering curcumin for the treatment of asthma. (Nanomedicine (London, England), 2026, PMID 42153286): "To investigate whether curcumin (CUR) delivered by EGFR-targeted extracellular vesicles (EVs) alleviates asthma and to explore the underlying mechanism."
May Multimodal detection of microplastics in human kidney stones and multi-omics exploration of renal cell metaflammation. (Journal of hazardous materials, 2026, PMID 42155926): "Importantly, we demonstrated that curcumin (CUR) effectively alleviated this metaflammation, providing a novel interventional strategy against MP-induced renal cytotoxicity."
May Self-enhanced copper-doped Prussian blue nanoplatform for amplifying enzyme-like activity and photothermal effects. (International journal of pharmaceutics, 2026, PMID 42142675): "To address these challenges, we developed copper-doped Prussian blue nanoparticles (CPB NPs) for encapsulating curcumin (CUR) and further modified their surface with the active targeting molecule hyaluronic acid (HA), forming CPB@CUR-HA NPs."
May Synthesis and biological study of thiopheneyl/piperazinl-α-aminophosphonate-chitosan conjugates as biologically active carriers for controlled delivery of curcumin. (Scientific reports, 2026, PMID 42120914): "Among the synthesized systems, four conjugates (CS-TPP-THP, CS-TEP-THP, CS-TIP-THP, and CS-TEP-PIP) demonstrated effective loading of curcumin (CUR), with CS-TEP-PIP achieving the highest loading efficiency (75.9%)."
May Curcumin attenuates heatstroke-induced myocardial injury and ventricular arrhythmias by regulating the BAX/BCL-2/caspase-3 pathway. (Food & function, 2026, PMID 42108873): "Curcumin (CUR) has demonstrated cardioprotective effects, but its role in HS-induced myocardial injury and arrhythmias remains poorly understood."
May Metabolic engineering of Nicotiana benthamiana for production of curcuminoids. (Planta, 2026, PMID 42115500): "Nicotiana benthamiana plants transiently transformed with the C4 vector are capable to produce curcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin in reasonable yields."
Jun Unveiling the mechanism for improving the structural, functional and interfacial properties of casein via ultrasound-assisted enzymatic glycosylation and the effect on high internal phase emulsions as curcumin delivery vehicles. (International journal of biological macromolecules, 2026, PMID 42107576): "...the modification effect on curcumin-loaded HIPEs were systematically investigated."
May ROS-Responsive Polyprodrug Co-Delivery of Curcumin and Cinnamaldehyde to Disrupt Tumor Redox Homeostasis for Anticancer Therapy. (ACS applied materials & interfaces, 2026, PMID 42090188): "This design enables the codelivery of CA and Cur."
May Polysaccharide-Based Soluble Microneedle Transdermal Delivery of Curcumin Synergized with Photothermal Therapy for Acne Treatment. (ACS applied materials & interfaces, 2026, PMID 42084949): "A multifunctional microneedle (Cur-MPDA + Cur@HA/FPS MNs) based on hyaluronic acid and fucoidan (FPS) was prepared and functionalized by curcumin-loaded mesoporous polydopamine nanoparticles (Cur-MPDA) and backing containing curcumin, endowing it with a photothermal response, sustained-release, robust reactive oxygen species scavenging capacity, and antibacterial multiple properties."
Jun Phytochemical frontiers and molecular targets in liver cancer: A systematic bibliometric curation of natural compounds for HCC therapy (2015-2025). (Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie, 2026, PMID 42061133): "We identified over 700 distinct phytochemicals, notably quercetin, curcumin, and resveratrol, and approximately 600 plant species."
Jun Influence of formulation parameters on the physicochemical properties and cellular uptake of human serum albumin nanocarriers. (International journal of pharmaceutics, 2026, PMID 42061627): "Using curcumin (CCM) as a model hydrophobic payload, both formulations achieved effective drug encapsulation (GA-crosslinked 17.89% and GSH-based 14.6%)."
Jun Synthesis and anti-cancer drug loading properties of acetylated dextran-grafted lysine-arginine-based polyesteramide comb graft copolymer micelles. (International journal of biological macromolecules, 2026, PMID 42055359): "Curcumin (Cur) was employed as a model drug to evaluate the anticancer drug delivery potential of this system."
May DNA framework-based nanomedicine platform: a triple-function strategy for treating periodontitis via antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and osteogenesis-promoting activities. (International journal of oral science, 2026, PMID 42056079): "This platform effectively delivers curcumin and defensin to periodontal tissues."
Apr Medicinal and Edible Plants for the Management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Synergistic Modulation of the Microbiota-Metabolite-Immune Axis. (The American journal of Chinese medicine, 2026, PMID 42036630): "This review systematically discusses how MFH regulates the 'microbiota-metabolite-immune' axis via key bioactive constituents like polysaccharides, curcumin, and geniposide."
May Curcumin-loaded extracellular vesicles derived from lactic acid bacteria for alleviation of inflammatory bowel disease. (International journal of pharmaceutics, 2026, PMID 42025660): "...and curcumin was successfully encapsulated into these vesicles."
Apr Curcumin regulates P2X7R level to inhibit TGF-β, NOX1, and MMP-3 expression in ox-LDL-treated macrophages. (Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology, 2026, PMID 42012656): "This study investigates how curcumin affects P2X7R and related targets like NOX1, MMP-3, and TGF-β in ox-LDL-treated macrophages."
Jun Biopolymeric nanocapsules exploiting the synergistic effects of methotrexate and curcumin co-delivery via oral or local administration for breast cancer therapy. (Journal of pharmaceutical sciences, 2026, PMID 41999919): "This study prepared and evaluated biopolymeric ALG nanocapsules co-loaded with MTX and CUR to exploit their synergistic effects for breast cancer therapy via oral or intratumoral administration."
Apr Temporally Programmed and Laser-Triggered Immunomodulatory Hydrogel Enables Synergistic Wound Healing and Prevention of Postoperative Tumor Recurrence. (ACS applied materials & interfaces, 2026, PMID 41995291): "The preferential release of curcumin promotes wound healing and inhibits the recruitment of immunosuppressive cells, thereby alleviating local immunosuppression in an early postoperative stage."
May Curcumin-Integrated Smart Nanocarriers: A Multi-Stimuli-Responsive Platform for Targeted Delivery of 5-Fluorouracil in Cancer Therapy. (ACS applied bio materials, 2026, PMID 41996327): "This work deals with synthesis of a biotin-conjugated nanomicellar carrier derived from curcumin bearing pH-, enzyme-, and redox-responsive linkages."
May Biotin-Decorated Inulin-Based Polymeric Micelles Unveil Their Dual-Targeting Ability for the Potential Treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme through the In Vitro and In Vivo Investigations. (Molecular pharmaceutics, 2026, PMID 41973041): "This study evaluated biotinylated-inulin vitamin E micelles (INVITE-BIO) as a carrier for the hydrophobic drug curcumin and their biotin-mediated dual-targeting ability to the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB) and Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) cells by in vitro and in vivo studies."
May 3D bioprinted melanoma constructs reveal delivery-dependent efficacy of phytochemical-gold nanoparticle formulations. (Biomedical materials (Bristol, England), 2026, PMID 41974179): "This study investigates the efficacy of phytochemical nanoformulations-specifically curcumin and thymoquinone (TQ) delivered via gold nanoparticles (AuNPs)-against melanoma A375 cells in both 2D and 3D bioprinted gelatin-alginate scaffolds."
Jun Mechanistic insights into the preparation and stabilisation of supersaturated pea protein isolate-curcumin nanoparticles prepared by a pH-driven method. (Food chemistry, 2026, PMID 41962485): "The water solubility of the polyphenol curcumin was enhanced by preparing pea protein isolate nanoparticles loaded with curcumin using a well-established pH-driven method."
Jun Improving oleoyl hyaluronan self-assembly and functional properties using zinc ions. (Carbohydrate polymers, 2026, PMID 41943310): "These structural improvements translated into a substantial increase in drug loading capacity, with curcumin showing a 20% enhancement (50.5 vs. 42.2 µg/ml)..."
Jun Curcumin-loaded beta-glucan nanoparticles: preparation, physicochemical properties, and molecular modeling. (Drug development and industrial pharmacy, 2026, PMID 41944076): "using curcumin (CC) as a model compound."
Jun Controllable alkaline dissociation of anionic polysaccharides governs nano-coassembly with soy β-conglycinin: a rational design for intestinal-targeted delivery systems. (Food research international (Ottawa, Ont.), 2026, PMID 41942223): "The optimal SA/7S nanocomposites exhibited high curcumin encapsulation (87.28%), enhanced storage stability, and potential intestinal delivery of curcumin, with only 17.61% released in gastric conditions and a final bioavailability of 72.76% (4-fold higher than free curcumin)."
Jun Curcumin mitigates gas explosion-induced traumatic brain injury in male rats by regulating key molecular signatures: A multiomics analysis. (Journal of proteomics, 2026, PMID 41935781): "Treatment with curcumin following gas explosion-induced traumatic brain injury (TBI) can mitigate inflammatory brain damage; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear."
Jun Comparative pharmacokinetic analysis of curcumin and curcumin O-glucuronide through curcumin nano-gel-based delivery system using liquid chromatogram tandem mass spectrometry. (Pakistan journal of pharmaceutical sciences, 2026, PMID 41934301): "Curcumin exhibits limited oral bioavailability owing to its poor solubility and rapid metabolism."
Apr SELFormer-guided discovery of xanthohumol and cirsilineol as multi-target natural therapeutics for type 2 diabetes: computational prediction and experimental validation. (Food & function, 2026, PMID 41923660): "Multi-target network analysis and molecular docking identified curcumin, xanthohumol, hesperetin, (-)-epicatechin, and cirsilineol as lead candidates with favorable binding energies ranging from -7 to -10 kcal mol-1 across the six targets."
Jun Castor oil-based waterborne polyurethane photodynamic antimicrobial films: Preparation and strawberry preservation application. (Food research international (Ottawa, Ont.), 2026, PMID 41895946): "and encapsulated curcumin (Cur) with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) to form a Cur inclusion complex (CD)."
Jun A dual-functional nanoplatform based on pH-driven self-assembly of pea protein isolate-folic acid conjugate for targeted and stabilized delivery of curcumin. (Food research international (Ottawa, Ont.), 2026, PMID 41895974): "The antioxidant capacity of PPI-FA-Cur was 1.54-fold and 1.16-fold higher than that of free Cur and PPI-Cur, respectively."
Jun Novel nanocomposite films co-embedded with bioactive compounds: Synergistic barrier, antioxidant, controlled-release properties and application on food packaging. (Food research international (Ottawa, Ont.), 2026, PMID 41895977): "This study reports, for the first time, the development of co-loaded curcumin and resveratrol nanoparticles (ZCRC NPs) fabricated via a novel combination of zein and sodium caseinate, which were subsequently incorporated into a gelatin matrix to create a multifunctional composite film."
May Curcumin attenuates hindlimb unloading-induced bone loss by suppressing NF-κB-mediated osteoclast activation. (Biochemical and biophysical research communications, 2026, PMID 41855861): "Here, we identify curcumin, a naturally polyphenolic compound with pleiotropic bioactivity, as a promising candidate unloading-induced osteoporosis."
Mar Polymeric-lipid hybrid liposomes co-loaded with curcumin and silver nanoparticles: A strategy for photodynamic therapy in skin cancer. (Biomaterials advances, 2026, PMID 41844085): "Curcumin (CUR), a natural polyphenol with anticancer properties, suffers from low bioavailability, which has been improved through customized formulations and delivery systems like polymeric nanoparticles and liposomes."
May Low- and intermediate-frequency ultrasound modification of millet protein: Implications for emulsifying and gelling properties. (Food chemistry, 2026, PMID 41844107): "Notably, LUS-80.29 W/L emulsion gel exhibited superior 3D printability and effectively encapsulated curcumin, enabling intestinal-targeted release and improved micellization."
Apr Hyaluronan-cholesterol core-shell glycerosomes: innovative nanocarriers for mitigating smoke-induced oxidative stress and inflammation in the lungs. (International journal of pharmaceutics, 2026, PMID 41833848): "Curcumin was selected as a potent antioxidant and encapsulated with high yields (> 70%) in the formulated systems."
May Precision assembly of ethyl cellulose-zein Janus nanoparticles with lock-and-key structures for controlled release of quercetin and curcumin. (Carbohydrate polymers, 2026, PMID 41831974): "It was found that Janus NPs could regionally encapsulate quercetin and curcumin in the EC hemisphere and zein sphere."
May Dual-crosslinked polysaccharide microspheres via glycated collagen and sodium alginate/chitosan for intestine targeted delivery of curcumin in ulcerative colitis treatment. (Carbohydrate polymers, 2026, PMID 41832025): "Initially, curcumin (Cur) was encapsulated within Andrias davidianus collagen (ADC) or its xylose glycated form (ADCXy) to form ADC/ADCXy-Cur complexes."
May Lignocellulose processing-induced pH-responsive Pickering emulsions for curcumin delivery. (Food research international (Ottawa, Ont.), 2026, PMID 41819914): "For curcumin delivery, the encapsulation efficiency reached 92.5%."
May Sodium alginate-based hydrogel beads encapsulating curcumin-selenium nanoparticles for enhanced antioxidant, antimicrobial, and edible oil preservation. (Food chemistry, 2026, PMID 41806650): "In this study, a food-grade sodium alginate-chitosan hydrogel bead system encapsulating curcumin-loaded selenium nanoparticles (Cur@Se) was developed to enhance antioxidant delivery and stability in lipid matrices."
May Development of a lipid bioactive-loaded bigel food system for elderly individuals with dysphagia. (Food chemistry, 2026, PMID 41740377): "the bigel effectively encapsulates lipophilic bioactives such as curcumin."
May Curcumin-loaded composite nanoparticles from aggregated insoluble soybean protein hydrolysate and soluble soybean polysaccharide: Fabrication, characterization, and application in stabilizing W/O/W Pickering emulsions. (Food chemistry, 2026, PMID 41734550): "This study developed nanoparticles from aggregated insoluble soybean protein hydrolysate (AISPH) and soluble soybean polysaccharide (SSPS) for curcumin (Cur) encapsulation and W/O/W Pickering emulsion stabilization."
Apr Curcumin-Loaded Liposomes (hPLipo/Cur) with Liver-Targeting Properties for Efficient NAFLD Treatment by Alleviating Mitochondrial ROS-Mediated Ferroptosis via NRF2 Pathway. (Molecular pharmaceutics, 2026, PMID 41725216): "Curcumin has an ameliorative but limited effect on NAFLD due to its low water solubility."
May Toxicological profiling of nutraceutical-grade curcumin-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles using Caco-2 cells and zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo models. (Toxicology in vitro : an international journal published in association with BIBRA, 2026, PMID 41713562): "This study aimed to evaluate the toxicity of curcumin-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN_curc) through in vitro assays with Caco-2 cells and in vivo assays with zebrafish embryos (Danio rerio)."
May Tailoring the structure of MIL-101(Fe) for co-delivery of anti-inflammatory therapeutic agents. (Journal of colloid and interface science, 2026, PMID 41619422): "These structural features governed adsorption and enabled controlled release of naproxen sodium and curcumin, selected for complementary action mechanisms."
May Rationally designed BTO@MSN@PPy-PEG piezoelectric nanozyme for ultrasound/NIR-triggered synergistic piezodynamic-photothermal-chemo tumor therapy. (Colloids and surfaces. B, Biointerfaces, 2026, PMID 41519009): "efficient encapsulation of the chemotherapeutic agent curcumin (Cur),"