Abstract
Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is a polyphenol responsible for the yellow color of the
curry spice turmeric. It has been used in a variety of diseases in traditional medicine.
Modern scientific research has demonstrated its anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-carcinogenic,
anti-thrombotic, and cardiovascular protective effects. In this review, we focused
mainly on the effects of curcumin on the cardiovascular system. The antioxidant effects
of curcumin have been shown to attenuate adriamycin-induced cardiotoxicity and may
prevent diabetic cardiovascular complications. The anti-thrombotic, anti-proliferative,
and anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin and the effect of curcumin in decreasing
the serum cholesterol level may protect against the pathological changes occurring
with atherosclerosis. The p300-HAT inhibitory effects of curcumin have been demonstrated
to ameliorate the development of cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure in animal models.
The inflammatory effects of curcumin may have the possibility of preventing atrial
arrhythmias and the possible effect of curcumin for correcting the Ca2+ homeostasis may play a role in the prevention of some ventricular arrhythmias. The
preclinical studies from animal to clinical data in human are discussed.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 24, 2009
Accepted:
January 26,
2009
Received in revised form:
December 26,
2008
Received:
August 4,
2008
Identification
Copyright
© 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
