Curcumin usage for inflammation and spinal cord injury

초록

Curcumin is an herbal medicine that has been used for a very long time in Asian countries, including India. Curcumin is a key active ingredient that is extracted from turmeric. Turmeric is a rhizomatous plant of the ginger family, and modern scientific studies have demonstrated its extensive pharmacological activity, such as inflammation relief and anti-oxidant effects. The neuroprotective effect of turmeric has also been reported in several experimental studies on the animal brain and neuronal tissue. These functional properties of curcumin have great potential in the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI). Curcumin is a valid and effective therapeutic agent that could alleviate the catastrophic secondary injury process of the spinal cord, including inflammation, edema, free radical injury, fibrosis, and glial scar formation. This potential is supported by the immune pathological results obtained from several animal experiments, and significantly better outcomes were achieved in the evaluation using the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan locomotor rating scale for neurological function recovery. However, the evidence-based effectiveness of curcumin for SCI remains in the experimental stage, and questions pertaining to its clinical application, such as dose-safety verification and bioavailability remain unanswered. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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