School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7360, USA.
Chin Med. 2008 Sep 17;3:11. doi: 10.1186/1749-8546-3-11.
More than 30 Curcuma species (Zingiberaceae) are found in Asia, where the rhizomes of these plants are used as both food and medicine, such as in traditional Chinese medicine. The plants are usually aromatic and carminative, and are used to treat indigestion, hepatitis, jaundice, diabetes, atherosclerosis and bacterial infections. Among the Curcuma species, C. longa, C. aromatica and C. xanthorrhiza are popular. The main constituents of Curcuma species are curcuminoids and bisabolane-type sesquiterpenes. Curcumin is the most important constituent among natural curcuminoids found in these plants. Published research has described the biological effects and chemistry of curcumin. Curcumin derivatives have been evaluated for bioactivity and structure-activity relationships (SAR). In this article, we review the literature between 1976 and mid-2008 on the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-HIV, chemopreventive and anti-prostate cancer effects of curcuminoids. Recent studies on curcuminoids, particularly on curcumin, have discovered not only much on the therapeutic activities, but also on mechanisms of molecular biological action and major genomic effects.
亚洲有超过 30 种姜黄属植物（姜科），这些植物的根茎既是食物又是药物，如在中国传统医学中。这些植物通常具有芳香性和驱风作用，用于治疗消化不良、肝炎、黄疸、糖尿病、动脉粥样硬化和细菌感染。在姜黄属植物中，姜黄、莪术和郁金较为常见。姜黄属植物的主要成分是姜黄素类化合物和倍半萜类化合物。姜黄素是这些植物中天然姜黄素类化合物中最重要的成分。已发表的研究描述了姜黄素的生物学效应和化学性质。姜黄素衍生物的生物活性和构效关系（SAR）已得到评估。在本文中，我们回顾了 1976 年至 2008 年年中期间关于姜黄素类化合物的抗炎、抗氧化、抗 HIV、化学预防和抗前列腺癌作用的文献。最近对姜黄素类化合物的研究，特别是对姜黄素的研究，不仅发现了许多治疗活性，还发现了分子生物学作用机制和主要基因组效应。
