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Thursday 30 April 2015

Curcumin: A pleiotropic phytonutrient in diabetic complications

Volume 31, Issue 2, February 2015, Pages 276–282
Review

Curcumin: A pleiotropic phytonutrient in diabetic complications


Highlights

Curcumin has shown pharmacologic effects in various diseases including diabetic complications.
Curcumin's antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties contribute majorly toward its protective effects.
If supplemented with existing treatment modalities, curcumin can enhance efficacies and tone down associated side effects.

Abstract

Curcumin is the major polyphenolic constituent of an indigenous herb, Curcuma longa, found to have a wide range of applications right from its kitchen use as a spicy ingredient to therapeutic and medicinal applications in various diseases. Curcumin has been identified to have a plethora of biologic and pharmacologic properties owing to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. This pleiotropic regulation of redox balance of cell and inflammation might be the basis of curcumin's beneficial activities in various pathologic conditions including diabetic complications. This review summarizes various in vitro, in vivo studies done on curcumin and its therapeutic utility in diabetic micro-vascular complications. This review also emphasizes the importance of curcumin in addition to the existing therapeutic modalities in diabetic complications.

Keywords

  • Curcumin;
  • Diabetic complications;
  • Neuropathy;
  • Nephropathy;
  • Retinopathy
The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 402 307 3741; fax: +1 402 307 3751.