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REVIEW article

Front. Aging Neurosci.
Sec. Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Brain-aging
Volume 17 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2025.1533963

The beneficial effects of curcumin on aging and age-related diseases: From oxidative stress to antioxidant mechanisms, brain health and apoptosis

Provisionally accepted
Ying He Ying He Ying He Ying He 1*Yongqing Liu Yongqing Liu 2Min Zhang Min Zhang 3
  • 1 Luliang University, Luliang, China
  • 2 Department of Food Quality and Safety, School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, China
  • 3 Key Laboratory of Agro-Products Processing Technology of Shandong Province, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan, Shandong Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Aging and age-related disease are among the most common and challenging issues worldwide.During the aging process, the accumulation of oxidative stress, DNA damage, telomere dysfunction, and other related changes lead to cellular dysfunction and the development of diseases such as neurodegenerative and cardiovascular conditions. Curcumin is a widely-used dietary supplement against various diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and aging. This agent mediates its effects through several mechanisms, including the reduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress-induced damage, as well as the modulation of subcellular signaling pathways such as AMPK, AKT/mTOR, and NF-κB. These pathways are involved in cellular senescence and inflammation, and their modulation can improve cell function and help prevent disease. In cancer, Curcumin can induce apoptosis in a variety of different tumor cell lines. Curcumin also activates redox reactions within cells inducing ROS production that leads to the upregulation of apoptosis receptors on the tumor cell membrane. Curcumin can also upregulate the expression and activity of p53 that inhibits tumor cell proliferation and increases apoptosis. Furthermore, curcumin has a potent inhibitory effect on the activity of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), which are involved in the overexpression of antiapoptosis genes such as Bcl-2. It can also attenuate the regulation of antiapoptosis phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3K ) signaling and increase the expression of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) to induce endogenous production of ROS. Therefore, herein, we aim to summarize how curcumin affect different epigenetic processes (such as apoptosis and oxidative stress) in order to change aging-related mechanisms. Furthermore, we discuss its roles in agerelated diseases, such as Alzheimer, Parkinson, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular diseases.

    Keywords: Aging, age-related diseases, Curcumin, Signaling Pathways, nano-curcumin

    Received: 25 Nov 2024; Accepted: 06 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Ying He, Liu and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Ying He Ying He, Luliang University, Luliang, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.