Therapeutic Potentials of Curcumin for Alzheimer Disease

418 Pages·2016·8.15 MB·English

by  Akhlaq A. Farooqui (auth.)

Akhlaq A. Farooqui
Therapeutic
Potentials of
Curcumin for
Alzheimer
Disease
Therapeutic Potentials of Curcumin
for Alzheimer Disease

Akhlaq A. Farooqui
Therapeutic Potentials
of Curcumin for Alzheimer
Disease
Akhlaq A. Farooqui
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry
The Ohio State University
Columbus, OH, USA
ISBN 978-3-319-15888-4 ISBN 978-3-319-15889-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-15889-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016931435
Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
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S pringer International Publishing AG Switzerland is part of Springer Science+Business Media
(www.springer.com)
This monograph is dedicated to my beloved
father “the late Sharafyab Ahmed Saheb”
whose guidance and infl uence continue
to inspire and support me.

Pref ace
Curcumin, a hydrophobic polyphenol, is the yellow pigment in the Indian spice
turmeric (curry powder). It is derived from the rhizome of the herb Curcuma longa ,
which belongs to the family Zingiberaceae. Curcumin is sensitive to degradation
by visible and ultraviolet light, as well as high pH and oxygen. It has a half-life of
around 8 hours in the human blood. Curcumin possesses antioxidant, antiinfl am-
matory, antimicrobial, anticarcinogenic, antihypertensive, antihyperlipidemic,
antidiabetic, antipsoriasis, antithrombotic, antihepatotoxic, and neuroprotective
properties. Curcumin has been used extensively in Ayurvedic medicine (Indian
system of medicine) and Chinese traditional medicine for centuries as an antiin-
fl ammatory, antinociceptive, and antishock agent to relieve pain and infl ammation
not only in the skin and muscles but also in the treatment of numerous pathological
conditions, including rheumatism, digestive and infl ammatory disorders, intermit-
tent fevers, urinary discharges, and leukoderma as part of traditional medicine.
Curcumin acts not only by inhibiting oxidative stress and neuroinfl ammation,
reversing the amyloid pathology, but also by modulating synaptic plasticity and
inducing neurogenesis in the hippocampus of transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer
disease (AD), a neurodegenerative disorder, which is characterized by the deposi-
tion of senile plaques and neurofi brillary tangles, the loss of neurons, and syn-
apses, along with memory impairment and cognitive defi cit. Direct injections of
curcumin into the brains of the mice with AD not only delay further development
of plaque but also reduce the levels of senile plaque. Curcumin not only retards
Aβ-mediated oxidative stress but also inhibits the activation of NF-κB and pre-
vents Aβ-induced cell death in a human neuroblastoma cell line supporting the
view that regular consumption of curcumin from childhood to adulthood may
reduce the risk of developing AD, and thus, curcumin can be used as a potential
therapeutic agent for the treatment of AD.
I nformation on the treatment potentials of curcumin for AD is scattered through-
out the literature in the form of original papers, reviews, and few edited books,
which are focused on the effect of curcumin on anticarcinogenic activities of cur-
cumin in visceral tissues. At present there are no books on the effects of curcumin
on the brain and potential use of curcumin for the treatment of AD. The overarching
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viii Preface
objective of this monograph is to provide readers with a comprehensive and
c utting-e dge information on the effects of curcumin on the brain in a manner that is
not only useful to students and teachers but also to researchers, nutritionists, and
physicians. This monograph has ten chapters. The fi rst chapter describes informa-
tion on neurochemical changes in AD. Chapter 2 provides information on potential
animal models of AD and their importance in investigating the pathogenesis of
AD. Chapter 3 deals with metabolism, bioavailability, and biochemical effects of
curcumin in visceral organs and the brain. Chapter 4 focuses on cutting-edge infor-
mation on the effects of curcumin on transcription factors and enzyme activities in
visceral organs and the brain. Chapter 5 describes the effect of curcumin on growth
factors and their receptors, ion channels, and transporters in the visceral organs and
the brain. Chapter 6 narrates the effect of curcumin on oxidative stress in animal
models of AD and in AD patients. Chapter 7 describes the cutting-edge information
on the effect of curcumin on neuroinfl ammation in animal models of AD and in AD
patients. Chapter 8 provides readers with information on the therapeutic importance
of curcumin in neurological disorders other than AD. Chapter 9 deals with cutting-
edge information on treatment of AD with phytochemicals other than curcumin.
Finally, Chap. 1 0 deals with perspective and direction for future research on the
potential use of curcumin for the treatment of human AD.
My presentation and demonstrated ability to present complicated information on
signal transduction processes associated with effects of curcumin on the brain will
make this book particularly accessible to neuroscience graduate students, teachers,
and fellow researchers. It can be used as a supplemental text for neuroscience, nutri-
tion, and neurochemistry courses. Clinicians, neuroscientists, neurologists, neuro-
chemists, and nutritionists will fi nd this book useful for understanding the molecular
aspects of the potential use of curcumin for AD treatment. To the best of my knowl-
edge, this monograph will be the fi rst to provide a comprehensive description of sig-
nal transduction processes associated with benefi cial effects of curcumin in the brain.
The choices of topics presented in this monograph are personal. They are not
only based on my interest on the effects of curcumin on the brain but also in areas
where major progress has been made. The key objective of this monograph is to
critically evaluate the effect of curcumin on metabolic processes in the brain. Each
chapter of this monograph contains an extensive list of references, which are
arranged alphabetically to works that are cited in the text. I have tried to ensure
uniformity and mode of presentation as well as a logical progression of subjects
from one topic to another and have provided an extensive bibliography. For the sake
of simplicity and uniformity, a large number of fi gures with chemical structures of
curcumin and its analogs along with line diagrams of colored signal transduction
pathways are also included. I hope that my attempt to integrate and consolidate the
knowledge on the effect of curcumin in the brain will initiate more studies on
molecular mechanisms associated with benefi cial effects of curcumin on human
health in general and the brain in particular. This knowledge will be useful for the
optimal health of young, boomer, and pre-boomer American generations.
Columbus, OH, USA Akhlaq A. Farooqui
Acknowledgments
I thank my wife, Tahira, for the critical reading of this monograph, offering valuable
advice, useful discussion, and evaluation of the subject matter. Without her help and
participation, this monograph neither could nor would have been completed.
I would also like to express my gratitude to Gregory Baer of Springer, New York,
for his quick responses to my queries and professional manuscript handling.
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