The Nanoformulations of Curcumin for Cancer Therapy: New Perspectives

Abstract

Curcumin is a natural yellow phenolic compound that is located in many types of herbs, especially Curcuma Lana (Turmeric). It is a natural anti-oxidant and has shown many pharmaceutical activities in the preclinical and clinical studies such as antioxidant, anti-microbial, anti-cancer and anti-alzheimer disease effects. In addition, curcumin was proven to be anti-diabetic, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective and anti-rheumatic and it also protects against thrombosis and myocardial infarction. The major limitation to the use of curcumin in clinical practice is its very low oral bioavailability. Therefore, many technologies have been developed and implemented to overcome this limitation. In this review, we discussed the latest perspectives regarding the design and development of nano-sized systems for the anti-diabetic agent curcumin, including liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, micro-conjugates, micelles, peptide carriers, solid dispersions, cyclodextrins, emulsions and lipid nanopeptides and their role as a promising hope for cancer therapy.