A comprehensive review on physicochemical, pharmacological and analytical profile of curcumin

In the rhizomes of curcuma longa (family zinziberaceae), curcumin is present as a pigment, due to which it has importance in spices, cosmetics and drugs. It shows a variety of biological and physiological activities, like anti-tumour, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, anti-oxidant, anti-HIV etc. It has low toxicity at higher doses and is well tolerated by the human body. In spite of the proven research that supports the medicinal benefits of curcumin, its medicinal uses are countered by its low aqueous solubility and potential to get degraded in the GIT, which ultimately contributes towards its poor bioavailability. The present review summarizes the uses and applications of curcumin in drugs and cosmetics, briefly describing its status in folk medicines. It also mentions the methods of its analysis in drugs and cosmetics formulations and foodstuffs. The use of turmeric in ayurvedic medicines is described with their recipe and references. From the ancient times, turmeric is being used in various cosmetic preparations. In Indian rituals, turmeric is an essential component. In this review, various uses of the turmeric in cosmetics is mentioned. Ongoing recent research in these spheres is also summarised with references. In this review, the drawbacks of curcumin are also mentioned. As we know that turmeric is an ancient herb and have very beneficial properties beside this, it has some drawbacks, some negative properties etc. In the present review, we have discussed about various pharmacological, pharmacokinetic and medicinal properties of the curcumin and all this is summarized with the help of text, tables and figures. Various historical researches about curcumin are mentioned, including information about the discovery.