Regulation of uncontrolled cell growth (cancer) by curcumin and piperine- A Review

Abstract

Cancer is a clinical condition of uncontrolled growth of cells. Today one in six people have been suffering from this life threatening disease. It may be benign (localized) or malignant (spread). Besides the common treatment therapies like surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy naturally occurring spices like curcumin, found in turmeric(Curcuma longa) and piperine obtained from black peeper (Piper nigrum L) are getting importance for regulation of cancer proliferation. Curcumin and piperine both have the properties to regulate several intracellular signaling pathways acting as antioxidant and antiproliferative agent. According to literature glucuronidation of curcumin leads to formation of other compound that makes the curcumin unavailable and tend to be excreted in feces. On the other hand, piperine increases bioavailability of curcumin by inhibiting glucuronidation of curcumin in the liver and small intestine. So, using both spices together in food and beverages daily can increase the bioavailability of curcumin that could be blessings for cancer patients. In this paper an initiative has been made to illustrate the functions of both curcumin and piperine in inhibition of cell growth proliferation. The knowledge of this paper may be helpful in bio-medical applications and in formulation of new drug development therapy.