Curcumin and Liver Disease: from Chemistry to Medicine

Curcumin, the natural yellow-colored active principle, also called turmeric yellow, extracted from the perennial herb Curcuma longa L., has potent biological and pharmacological properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antibacterial, anti-ischemic, antitumor, and anticancer actions. The molecular mechanism of the hepatoprotective action of curcumin is due to its antioxidant properties and inhibitory activity against nuclear factor (NF)-κB that regulates different proinflammatory and profibrotic cytokines. Overall, scientific reports demonstrate that curcumin has high therapeutic ability for treating hepatic disorders. Here is a systematic discussion of the hepatoprotective activity of curcumin and its possible mechanisms of actions.