Curcumin as a Promising Neuroprotective Agent for the Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury: A Review of the Literature

초록

Curcumin is a polyphenolic chemical derived from the rhizomes of Curcuma longa. It has been used throughout the Indian subcontinent for medicinal purposes, religious events, and regional cuisine. It has various pharmacological benefits owing to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Its neuroprotective effects on the brain and peripheral nerves have been demonstrated in several in vivo neuronal tissue studies. Because of these func-tional properties of curcumin, it is considered to have great potential for use in the treat-ment of spinal cord injuries (SCIs). Numerous immunopathological and biochemical stud-ies have reported that curcumin can help prevent and alleviate subsequent secondary inju-ries, such as inflammation, edema, free radical damage, fibrosis, and glial scarring, after a primary SCI. Furthermore, following SCI, curcumin administration resulted in better out-comes of neurological function recovery as per the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan locomo-tor rating scale. However, to date, its utility in treating SCIs has only been reported in labo-ratories. More studies on its clinical applications are needed in the future for ensuring its bioavailability across the blood-brain barrier and for verifying the safe dose for treating SCIs in humans.

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