Curcumin / CSCs Cancer Research Results

CUR, Curcumin: Click to Expand ⟱
Features:
Curcumin is the main active ingredient in Turmeric. Member of the ginger family.Curcumin is a polyphenol extracted from turmeric with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
- Has iron-chelating, iron-chelating properties. Ferritin. But still known to increase Iron in Cancer cells.
- GSH depletion in cancer cells, exhaustion of the antioxidant defense system. But still raises GSH↑ in normal cells.
- Higher concentrations (5-10 μM) of curcumin induce autophagy and ROS production
- Inhibition of TrxR, shifting the enzyme from an antioxidant to a prooxidant
- Strong inhibitor of Glo-I, , causes depletion of cellular ATP and GSH
- Curcumin has been found to act as an activator of Nrf2, (maybe bad in cancer cells?), hence could be combined with Nrf2 knockdown
-may suppress CSC: suppresses self-renewal and pathways (Wnt/Notch/Hedgehog).

Curcumin — Curcumin is a turmeric-derived polyphenolic curcuminoid and diarylheptanoid from Curcuma longa, functionally best classified as a natural-product small molecule / nutraceutical candidate with pleiotropic redox, inflammatory, transcriptional, metabolic, and chemosensitizing activity. The standard abbreviation is CUR. It is the principal active pigment of turmeric rhizome, usually studied as purified curcumin, curcuminoid mixtures, turmeric extract, phytosomal curcumin, liposomal curcumin, nanoparticle curcumin, or piperine-enhanced formulations. Its oncology relevance is mechanistically broad but clinically constrained by poor aqueous solubility, rapid metabolism, low free systemic exposure, formulation variability, and insufficient well-powered cancer outcome trials.

Primary mechanisms (ranked):

  1. Suppression of NF-κB / STAT3 inflammatory-survival signaling, reducing cytokine, COX-2, iNOS, anti-apoptotic, invasion, and treatment-resistance programs.
  2. Biphasic redox modulation: ROS buffering in normal/inflamed tissue but ROS↑, GSH depletion, thioredoxin reductase disruption, and oxidative stress amplification in susceptible cancer models at sufficient exposure.
  3. Mitochondrial injury and intrinsic apoptosis, including mitochondrial membrane potential loss, cytochrome-c release, caspase activation, PARP cleavage, and ER-stress/UPR involvement.
  4. PI3K/AKT/mTOR and MAPK pathway modulation, contributing to growth arrest, autophagy modulation, apoptosis sensitization, and reduced survival signaling.
  5. Wnt/β-catenin, Hedgehog/GLI, Notch, and cancer-stem-cell suppression, reducing stemness, EMT, invasion, and recurrence-associated phenotypes in models.
  6. Hypoxia / HIF-1α and glycolysis inhibition, including reduced GLUT1, HK2, LDHA, PKM2, lactate/ECAR, and Warburg-like metabolic support in selected models.
  7. Anti-angiogenic and anti-metastatic modulation, including VEGF, MMPs, uPA, CXCR4/SDF-1, TGF-β/α-SMA, FAK, and EMT-related axes.
  8. Epigenetic and transcriptional reprogramming, including reported HDAC, DNMT, EZH2, Sp-family, p53, and microRNA-related effects.
  9. NRF2 modulation: generally cytoprotective in normal cells but potentially protective for cancer cells when NRF2 is activated; NRF2 suppression/knockdown can increase curcumin-induced ROS stress in some tumor models.
  10. Chemosensitization and radiosensitization, with parallel normal-tissue protective signals reported in some mucositis, dermatitis, oxidative-stress, and radioprotection contexts.

Bioavailability / PK relevance: Conventional oral curcumin has poor systemic bioavailability because of low solubility, low absorption, rapid conjugation, and rapid elimination. Oral trials have used doses up to gram-level daily dosing, but circulating free curcumin is typically low; measured plasma exposure often reflects conjugated curcumin. Piperine, phospholipid/phytosome, micellar, liposomal, nanoparticle, and other enhanced formulations can raise exposure, but each formulation should be treated as a distinct translational entity. Delivery constraints are central for oncology interpretation.

In-vitro vs systemic exposure relevance: Common in-vitro anticancer concentrations, often in the low-to-mid micromolar range and sometimes higher, frequently exceed achievable free plasma exposure from standard oral curcumin. Therefore, direct systemic anticancer claims from cell culture should be weighted cautiously unless supported by tissue-local exposure, enhanced formulation data, local delivery, IV/liposomal delivery, or clinically measured pharmacodynamic biomarkers.

Clinical evidence status: Preclinical evidence is extensive; human oncology evidence is mainly small human, biomarker, pilot, chemoprevention, adjunctive, symptom-management, and formulation trials. Current authoritative oncology summaries judge evidence inadequate to recommend curcumin-containing products as cancer treatment or as routine adjunct anticancer therapy, although symptom-support areas such as oral mucositis, radiation dermatitis, oxidative-status measures, and quality of life have more suggestive but still confirmatory-level evidence.


Clinical studies testing curcumin in cancer patients have used a range of dosages, often between 500 mg and 8 g per day; however, many studies note that doses on the lower end may not achieve sufficient plasma concentrations for a therapeutic anticancer effect in humans.
• Formulations designed to improve curcumin absorption (like curcumin combined with piperine, nanoparticle formulations, or liposomal curcumin) are often employed in clinical trials to enhance its bioavailability.

-Note half-life 6 hrs.
BioAv is poor, use piperine or other enhancers
Pathways:
- induce ROS production at high concentration. Lowers ROS at lower concentrations
curcumin can act as a pro-oxidant when blue light is applied
- ROS↑ related: MMP↓(ΔΨm), ER Stress↑, UPR↑, GRP78↑, Cyt‑c↑, Caspases↑, DNA damage↑, cl-PARP↑, HSP↓
- Lowers AntiOxidant defense in Cancer Cells: GSH↓ Catalase↓ HO1↓ GPx↓
but conversely is known as a NRF2↑ activator in cancer
- Raises AntiOxidant defense in Normal Cells: ROS↓, NRF2↑, SOD↑, GSH↑, Catalase↑,
- lowers Inflammation : NF-kB↓, COX2↓, p38↓, Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines : TNF-α↓, IL-6↓, IL-8↓
- inhibit Growth/Metastases : TumMeta↓, TumCG↓, EMT↓, MMPs↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, uPA↓, VEGF↓, NF-κB↓, CXCR4↓, SDF1↓, TGF-β↓, α-SMA↓, ERK↓
- reactivate genes thereby inhibiting cancer cell growth : HDAC↓, DNMT1↓, DNMT3A↓, EZH2↓, P53↑, HSP↓, Sp proteins↓,
- cause Cell cycle arrest : TumCCA↑, cyclin D1↓, CDK2↓, CDK4↓, CDK6↓,
- inhibits Migration/Invasion : TumCMig↓, TumCI↓, ERK↓, EMT↓, TOP1↓, TET1↓,
- inhibits glycolysis /Warburg Effect and ATP depletion : HIF-1α↓, PKM2↓, cMyc↓, GLUT1↓, LDHA↓, HK2↓, PFKs↓, PDKs↓, HK2↓, ECAR↓, OXPHOS↓, GRP78↑, GlucoseCon↓
- inhibits angiogenesis↓ : VEGF↓, HIF-1α↓, Notch↓, FGF↓, PDGF↓, EGFR↓, Integrins↓,
- inhibits Cancer Stem Cells : CSC↓, CK2↓, Hh↓, GLi1↓, CD133↓, CD24↓, β-catenin↓, n-myc↓, sox2↓, OCT4↓,
- Others: PI3K↓, AKT↓, JAK↓, STAT↓, Wnt↓, β-catenin↓, AMPK↓, ERK↓, JNK, TrxR**,
- Synergies: chemo-sensitization, chemoProtective, RadioSensitizer, RadioProtective, Others(review target notes), Neuroprotective, Cognitive, Renoprotection, Hepatoprotective, CardioProtective,

- Selectivity: Cancer Cells vs Normal Cells

Curcumin Cancer Mechanism Ranking

Rank Pathway / Axis Cancer Cells Normal Cells TSF Primary Effect Notes / Interpretation
1 NF-κB / STAT3 inflammatory survival signaling NF-κB ↓; STAT3 ↓; IL-6/TNF-α/COX-2/iNOS ↓; Bcl-2/Bcl-xL/survivin programs ↓ Inflammatory tone ↓; tissue-protective anti-inflammatory effect likely context-dependent R/G Reduced survival, inflammation, invasion, and therapy-resistance signaling Most central and industry-relevant axis; explains many downstream effects but is not curcumin-specific.
2 Biphasic redox stress and antioxidant buffering ROS ↑ (dose-dependent); GSH ↓; antioxidant reserve ↓; oxidative apoptosis ↑ ROS ↓; NRF2/SOD/GSH/catalase/HO-1 often ↑ in stress models R/G Selective redox pressure in susceptible tumor cells with normal-cell protection in lower-stress settings Direction depends strongly on concentration, formulation, light exposure, basal redox state, and tumor antioxidant capacity.
3 Thioredoxin reductase and GSH linked redox systems TrxR inhibition or redox cycling ↑; GSH depletion ↑; oxidative stress ↑ Usually buffered or antioxidant response ↑ at non-toxic exposure R/G Collapse of tumor redox compensation Mechanistically important for ROS amplification and radiosensitization; achievable exposure remains a major constraint.
4 Mitochondrial depolarization and intrinsic apoptosis ΔΨm ↓; cytochrome-c ↑; caspase-3/9 ↑; PARP cleavage ↑; apoptosis ↑ Generally ↔ or protected under oxidative/inflammatory stress R/G Execution of apoptosis after upstream redox and survival-signal disruption Central cytotoxic endpoint in many cell models; often downstream of ROS, ER stress, AKT/mTOR suppression, or p53 modulation.
5 PI3K / AKT / mTOR and autophagy balance PI3K ↓; AKT ↓; mTOR ↓; survival signaling ↓; autophagy ↑ or mixed Stress-adaptive autophagy ↔ or ↑ (context-dependent) R/G Growth suppression and apoptosis sensitization Autophagy may be cytotoxic or protective depending on model and timing; combination logic may require autophagy-state interpretation.
6 Wnt / β-catenin / Hedgehog / Notch stemness signaling β-catenin ↓; GLI/Hedgehog ↓; Notch ↓; CD133/CD44/OCT4/SOX2-like stemness markers ↓ Generally ↔; possible normal stem-cell effects are tissue/context-dependent G Reduced cancer stemness, EMT, self-renewal, and recurrence-associated phenotypes Important for anti-metastatic and anti-CSC positioning; evidence is mainly preclinical.
7 HIF-1α / glycolysis / Warburg metabolism HIF-1α ↓; GLUT1 ↓; HK2 ↓; LDHA ↓; PKM2 ↓; lactate/ECAR ↓; ATP stress ↑ Metabolic effects ↔ or adaptive; normal-cell toxicity depends on exposure G Reduced hypoxic adaptation and glycolytic energy support Mechanistically relevant but formulation and tissue exposure are critical; hypoxic tumors may be more relevant than normoxic cell culture.
8 EMT / invasion / metastasis matrix axis EMT ↓; MMP2/MMP9 ↓; uPA ↓; FAK ↓; CXCR4/SDF-1 ↓; migration/invasion ↓ Inflammation-linked remodeling ↓; wound-healing effects context-dependent G Anti-invasive and anti-metastatic phenotype Strongly supported in models; clinical anti-metastatic efficacy is not established.
9 VEGF / angiogenesis / hypoxia interface VEGF ↓; HIF-1α ↓; angiogenic signaling ↓ Angiogenesis modulation ↔ or ↓ (context-dependent) G Reduced tumor vascular-support signaling Overlaps with NF-κB, HIF-1α, STAT3, and inflammatory cytokine suppression.
10 Epigenetic and transcriptional reprogramming HDAC ↓; DNMT1/3A ↓; EZH2 ↓; Sp proteins ↓; p53 ↑ or restored in selected models Broad transcriptional effects possible; selectivity uncertain G Reactivation of growth-control and differentiation-associated programs Biologically plausible but highly model-dependent; direct target specificity is lower than pathway-level interpretation.
11 Ferroptosis and iron redox stress Iron/redox stress ↑; lipid peroxidation ↑; GPX4/GSH axis may ↓ (model-dependent) Iron-chelation and antioxidant protection may occur (context-dependent) R/G Potential ferroptosis contribution in susceptible tumor models Curcumin can behave as an iron chelator, antioxidant, or pro-oxidant depending on exposure, formulation, and cancer redox context.
12 NRF2 cytoprotection risk NRF2 ↑ may protect tumor cells; NRF2 depletion can enhance curcumin-induced ROS stress in some models NRF2 ↑ supports antioxidant and anti-inflammatory tissue protection G Dual-edged stress-response modulation Important caution for antioxidant matrix use: NRF2 activation is favorable in normal-cell protection but may be undesirable in NRF2-addicted tumors.
13 Chemosensitization and radiosensitization Chemo response ↑; radiation response ↑; apoptosis ↑; resistance pathways ↓ Chemo/radiation injury may ↓ in mucositis, dermatitis, and oxidative-stress contexts R/G Adjunct sensitization with possible normal-tissue protection Attractive translational axis, but clinical evidence remains mainly pilot/small-study; interaction risk should be checked per regimen.
14 Clinical Translation Constraint Free systemic exposure often insufficient for direct cytotoxic extrapolation from in-vitro micromolar data Enhanced formulations may improve exposure but may also alter safety, liver-risk profile, and interaction potential G Bioavailability and formulation dominate translational interpretation Separate ordinary curcumin, turmeric extract, piperine-enhanced, phytosomal, micellar, liposomal, nanoparticle, and IV/liposomal products where possible.

TSF legend:

P: 0–30 min

R: 30 min–3 hr

G: >3 hr
CSCs, Cancer Stem Cells: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type:
Cancer Stem Cells

Phytochemicals (natural plant-derived compounds) that may affect CSCs:
Curcumin
— suppresses self-renewal and pathways (Wnt/Notch/Hedgehog).
Resveratrol
— shown to reduce CSC populations and sphere formation in multiple models.
Sulforaphane (from broccoli sprouts)
— reported to inhibit CSC properties and pathways; active in vitro and in vivo.
EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate, green tea)
— reduces CSC markers and sphere formation in several cancer types.
Quercetin
— reported to inhibit CSC proliferation, self-renewal and invasiveness (breast, endometrial, others).
Berberine
— shown to suppress CSC “stemness” and reduce tumorigenic properties in multiple models.
Genistein (soy isoflavone)
— decreases CSC markers, sphere formation and stemness signaling in prostate/breast/other models.
Honokiol (Magnolia bark)
— shown to eliminate or suppress CSC-like populations in oral, colon, glioma models.
Luteolin
— inhibits stemness/EMT and reduces CSC markers and self-renewal in breast, prostate and other models.
Withaferin A (from Withania somnifera / ashwagandha)
— multiple preclinical reports show WA targets CSCs and reduces tumor growth/metastasis in models.

Circadian disruption in cancer and regulation of cancer stem cells by circadian clock genes: An updated review
Potential Role of the Circadian Clock in the Regulation of Cancer Stem Cells and Cancer Therapy
Can we utilise the circadian clock to target cancer stem cells?
Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
4675- CUR,    Curcumin improves the efficacy of cisplatin by targeting cancer stem-like cells through p21 and cyclin D1-mediated tumour cell inhibition in non-small cell lung cancer cell lines
- in-vitro, NSCLC, A549
ChemoSen↑, we showed that curcumin enhanced the sensitivity of the double-positive (CD166+/EpCAM+) CSC subpopulation in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines (A549 and H2170) to cisplatin-induced apoptosis and inhibition of metastasis.
CSCs↓, Curcumin enhances the sensitivity of the CSC subpopulation of CD166+/EpCAM+ cells to cisplatin-induced apoptosis
EpCAM↓, curcumin enhanced the inhibitory effects of cisplatin on the highly migratory CD166+/EpCAM+ subpopulation
TumCCA↓, combined treatments induced cell cycle arrest, therefore triggering CSC growth inhibition via the intrinsic apoptotic pathway.
VEGF↓, curcumin markedly decreased the metastasis of breast tumour cells to the lung and suppressed the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9)
MMP9↓,
toxicity↓, Furthermore, curcumin has been found to be safe when administered at ≤10 g/day in humans

4651- CUR,    Targeting cancer stem cells by curcumin and clinical applications
- Review, Var, NA
CSCs↓, recent research has shown that curcumin can target cancer stem cells (CSCs)
*toxicity↓, safety and tolerability of curcumin have been well-established by numerous clinical studies
*BioAv↝, Importantly, the low bioavailability of curcumin has been dramatically improved through the use of structural analogues or special formulations.
chemoP↑, promising agent in cancer chemoprevention and therapy

4652- CUR,    Anticancer effect of curcumin on breast cancer and stem cells
- Review, BC, NA
TumCP↓, inhibiting cancer cell proliferation and metastasis and by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis.
TumMeta↓,
TumCCA↑,
Apoptosis↑,
CSCs↓, curcumin inhibits the proliferation of breast cancer stem cells (BCSC), an important factor that influences cancer recurrence.
NF-kB↓, curcumin exhibited a potent antiproliferation effect by inhibiting the binding activity of NF-KB
Telomerase↓, Curcumin inhibited telomerase activity in human leukemia cells [21,22] and brain tumor cells [23] in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner.
Cyt‑c↑, curcumin releases cytochrome C and upregulates caspase-9 and caspase-3 expression
Casp9↑,
Casp3↑,
E-cadherin↑, Curcumin inhibits the migratory ability of BSCS by amplifying the E-cadherin/β-catenin negative feedback loop.

4653- CUR,    Curcumin: a promising agent targeting cancer stem cells
- Review, Var, NA
CSCs↓, evidence suggested that the dietary agent curcumin exerted its anti-cancer activities via targeting cancer stem cells of various origins such as those of colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, brain cancer, and head and neck cancer.

4676- CUR,    Curcumin suppresses stem-like traits of lung cancer cells via inhibiting the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway
- vitro+vivo, Lung, H460
CSCs↓, In the present study, we tested the effects of curcumin on lung cancer stem-like cells and report that in addition to inhibition on the proliferation and colony formation of lung cancer cells, curcumin reduces tumor spheres of H460 cells
JAK2↓, via inhibiting the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway
STAT3↓,
TumCP↓, Curcumin inhibits proliferation and colony formation of NCI-H460 lung cancer cells.
TumCG↓, Curcumin inhibits tumor spheres growth of NCI-H460 lung cancer cells in vivo.

4655- CUR,    Inhibition of Cancer Stem-like Cells by Curcumin and Other Polyphenol Derivatives in MDA-MB-231 TNBC Cells
- in-vitro, BC, NA
CSCs↓, Curcumin, a polyphenol derived from turmeric (Curcuma longa), exhibits anticancer effects against breast cancer cells and BCSCs.
*BioAv↓, curcumin derivatives has been suggested as an approach to overcome the bioavailability and solubility problems of curcumin in humans, thereby increasing its anticancer effects

4656- CUR,  EGCG,    Curcumin and epigallocatechin gallate inhibit the cancer stem cell phenotype via down-regulation of STAT3-NFκB signaling
- in-vitro, BC, MDA-MB-231 - in-vitro, BC, MCF-7
CSCs↓, Combined curcumin and EGCG treatment reduced the cancer stem-like Cluster of differentiation 44 (CD44) positive cell population.
CD44↓,
p‑STAT3↓, curcumin and EGCG specifically inhibited STAT3 phosphorylation and STAT3-NFkB interaction was retained.
NF-kB↓, Notably, curcumin is a potent inhibitor of NFκB
TumCI↓, Wound-healing assay revealed that curcumin and EGCG suppress cell invasiveness

4671- CUR,    Targeting colorectal cancer stem cells using curcumin and curcumin analogues: insights into the mechanism of the therapeutic efficacy
- in-vitro, CRC, NA
CSCs↓, Intriguingly, curcumin and its analogues have also recently been shown to be effective in lowering tumour recurrence by targeting the CSC population, hence inhibiting tumour growth.
TumCG↓,
ChemoSen↑, curcumin could play a role as chemosensitiser whereby the colorectal CSCs are now sensitised towards the anti-cancer therapy,
Wnt↓, Three major signaling pathways in which curcumin plays a pivotal role in CSC self-renewal behavior are the Wnt/β-catenin, Sonic Hedgehog (SHH), and Notch pathways
β-catenin/ZEB1↓,
Shh↓,
NOTCH↓,
DNMT1↓, Figure 1
STAT3↓,
NF-kB↓,
EGFR↓,
IGFR↓,
TumCCA↓,
cl‑PARP↑,
BAX↑,
ECM/TCF↓,

4672- CUR,    An old spice with new tricks: Curcumin targets adenoma and colorectal cancer stem-like cells associated with poor survival outcomes
- vitro+vivo, CRC, HCT116
CSCs↓, Curcumin targets proliferating stem cells in human colorectal adenoma models, with activity across all molecular subtypes.
Nanog↓, Evidence suggests these effects involve direct protein binding of curcumin to NANOG, a master regulator of CRC CSCs
BioAv↓, It is well established that curcumin has poor bioavailability, but appreciable concentrations can be detected in gastrointestinal tissue when it is taken orally in its standard form

4674- CUR,    Curcumin Shows Promise in Targeting Colorectal Cancer Stem-like Cells: Mechanistic Insights and Clinical Implications
- Review, CRC, NA
CSCs↓, Curcumin Suppresses CSCs and Tumor Formation In Vivo
Nanog↓, Mechanistic studies reveal curcumin binds to and inhibits NANOG, a key CSC regulator.

5397- CUR,  SFN,  RES,  EGCG,  Ash  Targeting Cancer Stem Cells with Phytochemicals: Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential
- Review, Var, NA
CSCs↓, curcumin, sulforaphane, resveratrol, EGCG, genistein, quercetin, parthenolide, berberine, and withaferin A. Collectively, these compounds suppress CSC self-renewal,

6216- CUR,    Role of Turmeric and Curcumin in Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Diseases: Lessons Learned from Clinical Trials
- Review, Var, NA
TumCG↓, Curcumin can prevent tumor growth, angiogenesis, epithelial–mesenchymal transition, invasion, and metastasis by modulating the expression of tumor-related non-coding RNA (ncRNA)
angioG↓,
EMT↓,
TumCI↓,
TumMeta↓,
*GutMicro↑, curcumin plays a crucial role in regulating the gut microbiota via biotransformation of curcumin and its metabolites.
*BioAv↓, one of the primary drawbacks of taking curcumin alone is its low bioavailability, which appears to be caused by poor absorption, fast metabolism, and excretion
*HO-1↑, Curcumin is an efficient inducer of hemoxygenase-1 and a powerful inhibitor of reactive oxygen-generating enzymes, such as cyclooxygenase (COX), inducible nitric oxygen synthase (iNOS), lipoxygenase, and xanthine dehydrogenase/oxidase
*ROS↓,
*COX2↓,
*iNOS↓,
PKCδ↓, Curcumin is also a powerful inhibitor of protein kinase C (PKC), tyrosine kinase, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and IB kinase.
EGFR↓,
NF-kB↓, It suppresses NF-κB activation and the expression of oncogenes, such as c-jun, c-fos, c-myc, Akt, PI3K, cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)
cJun↓,
cFos↓,
cMyc↓,
Akt↓,
PI3K↓,
CDK4↓,
*TNF-α↓, Continuous supplementation with nanocurcumin (two 40 mg capsules/day after a meal) for 3 months suppressed expression of inflammatory tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), high sensitive protein with C-reactive protein (CRP), and interleukin-6 (IL-6)
*CRP↓,
*IL6↓,
MMP9↓, curcumin suppressed metastasis to the lung by suppressing NF-κB, MMP-9, COX-2, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression.
VEGF↓,
JAK↓, Curcumin remarkably inhibits JAK/STAT signaling by downregulating pro-inflammatory interleukins, such as IL-1, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12, and MCP-1.
STAT↓,
IL1↓,
IL2↓,
IL6↓,
IL8↓,
IL12↓,
MCP1↓,
Apoptosis↑, It promotes apoptosis and ER stress by targeting phosphorylated protein kinase-like ER-resident kinase,
ER Stress↑,
5LO↓, inhibiting lipoxygenase and xanthine oxidase activity
XO↓,
*NRF2↑, The expression of nuclear factors erythroid 2-related factor (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) is boosted by curcumin
*HO-1↑,
*AChE↓, Curcumin also inhibits the key enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and p300, a positive regulator of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway
*neuroP↑, Curcumin has also been suggested to prevent and cure neurotoxicity by replenishing dopamine and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid levels.
*glucose↓, remarkably lowers blood glucose levels and improves insulin resistance by reducing hepatic glucose synthesis, inhibiting inflammatory reactions produced by hyperglycemia,
*GLUT2↑, boosting glucose transporters 2 (GLUT2), 3 (GLUT3), and 4 (GLUT4) gene expression, enhancing glucose uptake, and activating the AMPK signaling pathway.
*GLUT3↑,
*GLUT4↑,
*GlucoseCon↑,
*AMPK↑,
*BMD↑, Supplementation with nanomicelle curcumin (80 mg) alone or in combination with Nigella sativa oil (1000 mg) for 2–6 months increased plasma levels of miRNA-21 in postmenopausal women with low bone mass density.
*MDA↓, (1000 mg/day) for 8 weeks reduced serum levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) and increased the total antioxidant capacity in 81 healthy postmenopausal women
*eff↑, Loriczova et al. demonstrated that iron (18 mg and 65 mg) supplementation along with curcumin (500 mg) reduces iron-induced systemic inflammation by reducing plasma levels of TNF-α
eff↑, high-dose vitamin C (25–100 g/day) along with oral nutrient supplementation including curcumin (1–3 g/day) had improved QoL and survival
P53↑, Curcumin was also reported to induce p53 and Bax expression in patients with colorectal cancer, causing apoptosis and DNA fragmentation and suppressing TNF-α and Bcl-2.
BAX↑,
DNAdam↑,
Bcl-2↓,
CSCs↓, The combination of curcumin, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) in colorectal liver metastases reduced stem cell markers, such as aldehyde dehydrogenase and CD133.
ALDH↓,
CD133↑,

2688- CUR,    Effects of resveratrol, curcumin, berberine and other nutraceuticals on aging, cancer development, cancer stem cells and microRNAs
- Review, Var, NA - Review, AD, NA
*ROS↓, CUR reduced the production of ROS
*SOD↑, CUR also upregulated the expression of superoxide dismutase (SOD) genes
p16↑, The effects of CUR on gene expression in cancer-associated fibroblasts obtained from breast cancer patients has been examined. CUR increased the expression of the p16INK4A and other tumor suppressor proteins
JAK2↓, CUR decreased the activity of the JAK2/STAT3 pathway
STAT3↓,
CXCL12↓, and many molecules involved in cellular growth and metastasis including: stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1), IL-6, MMP2, MMP9 and TGF-beta
IL6↓,
MMP2↓,
MMP9↓,
TGF-β↓,
α-SMA↓, These effects reduced the levels of alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA) which was attributed to decreased migration and invasion of the cells.
LAMs↓, CUR suppressed Lamin B1 and
DNAdam↑, induced DNA damage-independent senescence in proliferating but not quiescent breast stromal fibroblasts in a p16INK4A-dependent manner.
*memory↑, CUR has recently been shown to suppress memory decline by suppressing beta-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1= Beta-secretase 1, an important gene in AD) expression which is implicated in beta-amyoid pathology in 5xFAD transgenic
*cognitive↑, CUR was found to decrease adiposity and improve cognitive function in a similar fashion as CR in 15-month-old mice.
*Inflam↓, The effects of CUR and CR were positively linked with anti-inflammatory or antioxidant actions
*antiOx↑,
*NO↑, CUR treatment increased nNOS expression, acidity and NO concentration
*MDA↓, CUR treatment resulted in decreased levels of MDA
*ROS↓, CUR treatment was determined to cause reduction of ROS in the AMD-RPEs and protected the cells from H2O2-induced cell death by reduction of ROS levels.
DNMT1↓, CUR has been shown to downregulate the expression of DNA methyl transferase I (DNMT1)
ROS↑, induction of ROS and caspase-3-mediated apoptosis
Casp3↑,
Apoptosis↑,
miR-21↓, CUR was determined to decrease both miR-21 and anti-apoptotic protein expression.
LC3II↓, CUR also induced proteins associated with cell death such as LC3-II and other proteins in U251 cells
ChemoSen↑, The combined CUR and temozolomide treatment resulted in enhanced toxicity in U-87 glioblastoma cells.
NF-kB↓, suppression of NF-kappaB activity
CSCs↓, Dendrosomal curcumin increased the expression of miR-145 and decreased the expression of stemness genes including: NANOG, OCT4A, OCT4B1, and SOX2 [113]
Nanog↓,
OCT4↓,
SOX2↓,
eff↑, A synergistic interaction was observed when emodin and CUR were combined in terms of inhibition of cell growth, survival and invasion.
Sp1/3/4↓, CUR inducing ROS which results in suppression of specificity protein expression (SP1, SP3 and SP4) as well as miR-27a.
miR-27a-3p↓,
ZBTB10↑, downregulation of miR-27a by CUR, increased expression of ZBTB10 occurred
SOX9?, This resulted in decreased SOX9 expression.
ChemoSen↑, CUR used in combination with cisplatin resulted in a synergistic cytotoxic effect, while the effects were additive or sub-additive in combination with doxorubicin
VEGF↓, Some of the effects of CUR treatment are inhibition of NF-κB activity and downstream effector proteins, including: VEGF, MMP-9, XIAP, BCL-2 and Cyclin-D1.
XIAP↓,
Bcl-2↓,
cycD1/CCND1↓,
BioAv↑, Piperine is an alkaloid found in the seeds of black pepper (Piper nigrum) and is known to enhance the bioavailability of several therapeutic agents, including CUR
Hif1a↓, CUR inhibits HIF-1 in certain HCC cell lines and in vivo studies with tumor xenografts. CUR also inhibited EMT by suppressing HIF-1alpha activity in HepG2 cells
EMT↓,
BioAv↓, CUR has a poor solubility in aqueous enviroment, and consequently it has a low bioavailability and therefore low concentrations at the target sites.
PTEN↑, CUR treatment has been shown to result in activation of PTEN, which is a target of miR-21.
VEGF↓, CUR treatment resulted in a decrease of VEGF and activated Akt.
Akt↑,
EZH2↓, CUR also suppressed EZH2 expression by induction of miR-let 7c and miR-101.
NOTCH1↓, The expression of NOTCH1 was inhibited upon EZH2 suppression [
TP53↑, CUR has been shown to activate the TP53/miR-192-5p/miR-215/XIAP pathway in NSCLC.
NQO1↑, CUR can also induce the demethylation of the nuclear factor erythroid-2 (NF-E2) related factor-2 (NRT2) gene which in turn activates (NQO1), heme oxygenase-1 (HO1) and an antioxidant stress pathway which can prevent growth in mouse TRAMP-C1 prostate
HO-1↑,

437- CUR,    Anti-cancer activity of amorphous curcumin preparation in patient-derived colorectal cancer organoids
- vitro+vivo, CRC, TCO1 - vitro+vivo, CRC, TCO2
cycD1/CCND1↓,
cMyc↓,
p‑ERK↓,
CD44↓,
CD133↓,
LGR5↓,
TumCCA↑, proportion of cells in the G0/G1 phase in CRC organoids significantly increased at 24 h
TumVol↓,
CSCs↓, Expressions of CSC markers, CD44, LGR5, and CD133, were declined in the AC-treated CRC organoids.

450- CUR,    Curcumin may be a potential adjuvant treatment drug for colon cancer by targeting CD44
- in-vitro, CRC, HCT116 - in-vitro, CRC, HCT8
TumCP↓,
TumCMig↓,
CD44↓, also cellular uptake of curcumin was significantly higher in CD44+ colon cancer cells.
CSCs↓, been suggested that curcumin was effective against colon CSCs by coupling with CD44

10- CUR,    Curcumin Suppresses Lung Cancer Stem Cells via Inhibiting Wnt/β-catenin and Sonic Hedgehog Pathways
- in-vitro, Lung, A549 - in-vitro, Lung, H1299
HH↓,
Wnt/(β-catenin)↓, curcumin suppressed the activation of both Wnt/β-catenin and Sonic Hedgehog pathways. T
Shh↓,
Smo↓,
Gli1↝,
GLI2↝,
CSCs↓, Curcumin Suppresses Lung Cancer Stem Cells via Inhibiting Wnt/β-catenin and Sonic Hedgehog Pathways
CD133↓, reduced number of CD133-positive cells, decreased expression levels of lung CSC markers,
CSCsMark↓,

4664- GEN,  CUR,  RES,  EGCG,  SFN  Targeting cancer stem cells by nutraceuticals for cancer therapy
- Review, Var, NA
CSCs↓, we will describe the some natural chemopreventive agents that target CSCs in a variety of human malignancies, including soy isoflavone, curcumin, resveratrol, tea polyphenols, sulforaphane, quercetin, indole-3-carbinol, 3,3′-diindolylmethane, withafe
other↝, Because chemotherapy and radiotherapy cannot effectively remove CSCs
eff↑, Curcumin and EGCG combination attenuated the CD44+ cell population via inhibition of pSTAT3 and retaining the crosstalk between STAT3 and NF-κB in breast cancer cells [233]
CD44↓,
p‑STAT3↓,

4667- RES,  CUR,  SFN,    Physiological modulation of cancer stem cells by natural compounds: Insights from preclinical models
- Review, Var, NA
CSCs↓, phytochemicals such as resveratrol, curcumin, sulforaphane, and others suppress CSC-associated pathways as well as sensitize CSCs to chemotherapy and radiotherapy
ChemoSen↑,
RadioS↑,
ALDH↓, deplete ALDH+ or CD44+ CSC pools, which ultimately decrease tumor initiation and recurrence.
CD44↓,
Wnt↓, graphical abstract
β-catenin/ZEB1↓,
NOTCH↓,
HH↓,
NF-kB↓,

4904- Sal,  CUR,    Co-delivery of Salinomycin and Curcumin for Cancer Stem Cell Treatment by Inhibition of Cell Proliferation, Cell Cycle Arrest, and Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition
CSCs↓, We determined CD44-targeting co-delivery nanoparticles are highly efficacious against BCSCs by inducing G1 cell cycle arrest and limiting epithelial–mesenchymal transition.
TumCCA↑,
EMT↓,
other↝, anti-cancer mechanism of salinomycin is associated with dysregulation of metal ions
TumAuto↑, activation of autophagy-mediated cell death, and inhibition of stem cell maintenance
Iron↑, recent study found that salinomycin and its derivative, ironomycin, exhibited a potent and selective activity against breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) by accumulating and sequestering iron to induce ferroptosis,
Ferroptosis↑,
BioAv↓, challenging to efficiently deliver salinomycin (Sal) to tumor sites due to its hydrophobicity, unfavorable pharmacokinetic profile, and cytotoxicity during systemic drug administration
ROS↑, Our previous studies showed that conjugation of salinomycin with gold nanoparticles can efficiently induce ferroptotic cell death of BCSCs by increasing the generation of ROS, mitochondrial dysfunction, and lipid oxidation with higher iron accumulati
lipid-P↑,
GPx4↓, and GPX-4 inactivation
eff↑, Salinomycin and curcumin were loaded onto poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) polymeric nanoparticles via double emulsion method to form nanoparticles . salinomycin and curcumin showed improved therapeutic efficiency against BCSCs


Showing Research Papers: 1 to 19 of 19

* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 19

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

Ferroptosis↑, 1,   GPx4↓, 1,   HO-1↑, 1,   Iron↑, 1,   lipid-P↑, 1,   NQO1↑, 1,   ROS↑, 2,  

Mitochondria & Bioenergetics ⓘ

XIAP↓, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

cMyc↓, 2,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Akt↓, 1,   Akt↑, 1,   Apoptosis↑, 3,   BAX↑, 2,   Bcl-2↓, 2,   Casp3↑, 2,   Casp9↑, 1,   Cyt‑c↑, 1,   Ferroptosis↑, 1,   Telomerase↓, 1,  

Kinase & Signal Transduction ⓘ

SOX9?, 1,   Sp1/3/4↓, 1,  

Transcription & Epigenetics ⓘ

cJun↓, 1,   EZH2↓, 1,   miR-21↓, 1,   miR-27a-3p↓, 1,   other↝, 2,  

Protein Folding & ER Stress ⓘ

ER Stress↑, 1,  

Autophagy & Lysosomes ⓘ

LC3II↓, 1,   TumAuto↑, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair ⓘ

DNAdam↑, 2,   DNMT1↓, 2,   p16↑, 1,   P53↑, 1,   cl‑PARP↑, 1,   TP53↑, 1,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence ⓘ

CDK4↓, 1,   cycD1/CCND1↓, 2,   TumCCA↓, 2,   TumCCA↑, 3,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State ⓘ

ALDH↓, 2,   CD133↓, 2,   CD133↑, 1,   CD44↓, 5,   cFos↓, 1,   CSCs↓, 19,   CSCsMark↓, 1,   EMT↓, 3,   EpCAM↓, 1,   p‑ERK↓, 1,   Gli1↝, 1,   HH↓, 2,   IGFR↓, 1,   LGR5↓, 1,   Nanog↓, 3,   NOTCH↓, 2,   NOTCH1↓, 1,   OCT4↓, 1,   PI3K↓, 1,   PTEN↑, 1,   Shh↓, 2,   Smo↓, 1,   SOX2↓, 1,   STAT↓, 1,   STAT3↓, 3,   p‑STAT3↓, 2,   TumCG↓, 3,   Wnt↓, 2,   Wnt/(β-catenin)↓, 1,  

Migration ⓘ

5LO↓, 1,   CXCL12↓, 1,   E-cadherin↑, 1,   GLI2↝, 1,   LAMs↓, 1,   MMP2↓, 1,   MMP9↓, 3,   PKCδ↓, 1,   TGF-β↓, 1,   TumCI↓, 2,   TumCMig↓, 1,   TumCP↓, 3,   TumMeta↓, 2,   α-SMA↓, 1,   β-catenin/ZEB1↓, 2,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature ⓘ

angioG↓, 1,   ECM/TCF↓, 1,   EGFR↓, 2,   Hif1a↓, 1,   VEGF↓, 4,   ZBTB10↑, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

IL1↓, 1,   IL12↓, 1,   IL2↓, 1,   IL6↓, 2,   IL8↓, 1,   JAK↓, 1,   JAK2↓, 2,   MCP1↓, 1,   NF-kB↓, 6,  

Protein Aggregation ⓘ

XO↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

BioAv↓, 3,   BioAv↑, 1,   ChemoSen↑, 5,   eff↑, 4,   RadioS↑, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers ⓘ

EGFR↓, 2,   EZH2↓, 1,   IL6↓, 2,   TP53↑, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

chemoP↑, 1,   toxicity↓, 1,   TumVol↓, 1,  
Total Targets: 111

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

antiOx↑, 1,   HO-1↑, 2,   MDA↓, 2,   NRF2↑, 1,   ROS↓, 3,   SOD↑, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

AMPK↑, 1,   glucose↓, 1,   GlucoseCon↑, 1,   GLUT2↑, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

iNOS↓, 1,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature ⓘ

NO↑, 1,  

Barriers & Transport ⓘ

GLUT3↑, 1,   GLUT4↑, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

COX2↓, 1,   CRP↓, 1,   IL6↓, 1,   Inflam↓, 1,   TNF-α↓, 1,  

Synaptic & Neurotransmission ⓘ

AChE↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

BioAv↓, 2,   BioAv↝, 1,   eff↑, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers ⓘ

BMD↑, 1,   CRP↓, 1,   GutMicro↑, 1,   IL6↓, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

cognitive↑, 1,   memory↑, 1,   neuroP↑, 1,   toxicity↓, 1,  
Total Targets: 31

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: CSCs, Cancer Stem Cells
19 Curcumin
3 EGCG (Epigallocatechin Gallate)
3 Sulforaphane (mainly Broccoli)
3 Resveratrol
1 Ashwagandha(Withaferin A)
1 Genistein (soy isoflavone)
1 salinomycin
Query results interpretion may depend on "conditions" listed in the research papers.
Such Conditions may include : 
  -low or high Dose
  -format for product, such as nano of lipid formations
  -different cell line effects
  -synergies with other products 
  -if effect was for normal or cancerous cells

Filter Conditions: Pro/AntiFlg:%  IllCat:%  CanType:%  Cells:%  prod#:65  Target#:795  State#:%  Dir#:%
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