The Effects of Curcuma Longa and its Major Component, Curcumin on Nervous System Diseases: Anti-Inflammatory Effects

Curcuma longa is extensively used as a spice, food preservative and coloring material in Asia. it has been used in traditional medicine as a household remedy for various diseases. Curcumin also known as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and has a potential role in the prevention and treatment of nervous system diseases. Materials and Methods: We searched the literature available in Scopus, PubMed and ScienceDirect databases for English articles published until 1990. For this purpose we used 5 keywords for curcumin and Curcuma longa, 10 for animal models and 7 for nervous system disorders. Results: This review article summarized a variety of in vitro and in vivo studies in order to find out the effects of Curcuma longa extract and curcumin on neuroinflammatory disorders. The results of several important studies have shown that curcumin has more beneficial effects in different nervous system diseases including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), cerebral edema (caused by traumatic brain injury) dementia, anxiety, depression, epilepsy and migraines than Curcuma longa. They can decrease IL (interleukin)-6,TNF (Tumor necrosis factor)-α and IL-1β and increase IL-10. Conclusion: The present review is an effort to provide a detailed scientific literature survey about anti-inflammatory effect of Curcuma longa extract and curcumin. Results showed that curcumin which foundsin Curcuma longa can be considered as promising agents in the treatment of neuroinflammatory disorders.