Turmeric and curcumin for neurodegenerative diseases
Examines protective mechanisms of turmeric products and novel nanotechnological therapeutics and biomaterial design strategies to circumvent Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s, and liver diseases. With neurodegenerative and liver diseases posing a serious threat to health care systems worldwide, this book addresses how existing nanotechnology and therapeutic strategies have not been as successful in their treatment. In addition to discussing drawbacks, possible future perspectives to overcome these challenges are also examined. Chapters also focus on therapeutic efficacy and drug delivery systems, providing readers with a full summary of research in this field in one handy reference.
Curcumin : clinical uses, health effects and potential complications
Curcumin is a natural product with polyphenolic structure. It is used in therapeutic remedies alone or in combination with other natural substances. Many researchers are investigating it because of its biological activities such as: anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-protozoal, anti-viral, anti-bacterial and has been found to be effective for treatment of Alzheimer, depression, headaches, fibromyalgia, leprosy, fever, menstrual problems, water retention, worms and kidney problems etc. It is an active ingredient in dietary spice, turmeric. It has reactive functional groups: a diketone moiety and two phenolic groups. Despite its unique biological activities, it suffers from some shortcomings which include: gastrointestinal problems, poor bioavailability due to its poor absorption, short half-life, poor solubility in aqueous solutions, rapid systemic elimination and antithrombotic activity which can interfere with blood clotting. The first chapter of this book reviews the different delivery systems used for incorporation of curcumin and its derivatives, release kinetics and up to date in vivo results. Chapter two discusses curcumin nano and microencapsulation and its implications on clinical uses.

