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Enzyme Engineering

Enzyme Engineering
Open Access

ISSN: 2329-6674

+44 1223 790975

Abstract

Photocytotoxicity of Curcumin and its Iron Complex

Tukki Sarkar and Akhtar Hussain

There is currently strong interest in curcumin and its metal complexes as potential photocytotoxic agents. Curcumin is a polyphenolic dye of root turmeric which can be isolated from the rhizome of the herb Curcuma longa. Curcumin is known to show a wide range of biological activities. It shows anticancer activity against a wide range of cancers. Unfortunately, it is unstable in aqueous medium and undergoes rapid hydrolytic degradation thereby severely limiting its usefulness as anticancer drug. In a recent work, we have shown that complexation to iron(III) ion arrests the hydrolytic instability of curcumin while retaining its photocytotoxic activity. Thus, a metal bound formulation of curcumin could be photochemotherapeutically more effective and successful than curcumin alone.

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