The potential use of curcumin in management of chronic disease: too good to be true?

Introduction Turmeric is an approved food additive, and contains approximately 2–5% curcumin as its most active ingredient and the component responsible for the yellow color of the spice [1]. Curcumin is a polyphenol, resembling ubiquinols and other phenols that have well described antioxidant properties. Turmeric is derived from the herb Curcuma longa, a member of the ginger family. It was first isolated nearly 200 years ago, and its structure [1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1-6-heptadiene-3, 4-dione] has been known since 1910. It has been well known for its ability to preserve food, and add taste and color to food, but the possibility that it may have healthpromoting properties is only recently receiving attention. Initially these were less appreciated because turmeric contains a variety of phytochemicals, including many analogs of curcumin. Even today, most preparations of curcumin contain around 18% demethoxycurcumin and around 5% bisdemethoxycurcumin [2 ]. It is not clear whether the analogues have equal biological activity.