Curcumin: Therapeutical Potential in Ophthalmology
2013
Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is the main curcuminoid of the popular Indian
spice turmeric ( Curcuma longa ). In the last 50 years, in vitro and in vivo experiments supported the main role of polyphenols and
curcumin for the prevention and treatment of many different inflammatory
diseases and tumors. The anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antitumor properties of curcumin are
due to different cellular mechanisms: this compound, in fact, produces
different responses in different cell types. Unfortunately, because of its
low solubility and oral bioavailability, the biomedical potential of
curcumin is not easy to exploit; for this reason more attention has been
given to nanoparticles and liposomes, which are able to improve curcuminʼs
bioavailability. Pharmacologically, curcumin does not show any dose-limiting
toxicity when it is administered at doses of up to 8 g/day for three months.
It has been demonstrated that curcumin has beneficial effects on several
ocular diseases, such as chronic anterior uveitis, diabetic retinopathy,
glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, and dry eye syndrome. The
purpose of this review is to report what has so far been elucidated about
curcumin properties and its potential use in ophthalmology.
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