Novel Curcumin Analogues: Synthesis and Therapeutic Applications

Curcumin is a biomolecule of importance due to its exquisite pharmacological applications, but at the same time having its own limitations, which include instability, rapid metabolism, and low bioavailability. Many attempts have been implemented to remove the constraints associated, so as to improve therapeutic potential of curcumin. The synthesis of curcumin was always found challenging due to its symmetrical structure and hence attracted organic and medicinal chemists. Modifying synthetic route and analogue designing, ranging from simple aromatic/heterocyclic derivatives to complex metal bio-conjugates followed by their implications opens the plethora of therapeutic applications. Preparing nanoformulation, colloidal drug delivery systems, metallic and mesoporous particles along with graphene, quantum dot, and hybrid nanosystems of curcumin is a very widely studied approach to overcome the limitations. Current review will provide an insight of novel synthetic approaches, new therapeutic benefits of formulations, molecular mechanisms of curcumin or of structurally modified curcumin ranging from malignant tumors, cardiovascular, apoptosis inducers to antimicrobial activities.