Editing Curcumin (section)

==Pharmacology==
[[File:Curcumin fluorescence.jpg|thumb|Curcumin displays green fluorescence under UV light]]

Curcumin, which shows positive results in most [[drug discovery]] assays, is regarded as a false lead that [[Medicinal chemistry|medicinal chemists]] include among "[[pan-assay interference compounds]]". This attracts undue experimental attention while failing to advance as viable therapeutic or drug leads,<ref name="nelson">{{cite journal | vauthors = Nelson KM, Dahlin JL, Bisson J, Graham J, Pauli GF, Walters MA | title = The Essential Medicinal Chemistry of Curcumin | journal = Journal of Medicinal Chemistry | volume = 60 | issue = 5 | pages = 1620–1637 | date = March 2017 | pmid = 28074653 | pmc = 5346970 | doi = 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.6b00975 }}<br /> See also: {{cite journal | vauthors = Nelson KM, Dahlin JL, Bisson J, Graham J, Pauli GF, Walters MA | title = Curcumin May (Not) Defy Science | journal = ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters | volume = 8 | issue = 5 | pages = 467–470 | date = May 2017 | pmid = 28523093 | pmc = 5430405 | doi = 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.7b00139 }}</ref><ref name="baker">{{cite journal | vauthors = Baker M | title = Deceptive curcumin offers cautionary tale for chemists | journal = Nature | volume = 541 | issue = 7636 | pages = 144–145 | date = January 2017 | pmid = 28079090 | doi = 10.1038/541144a | bibcode = 2017Natur.541..144B | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Bisson J, McAlpine JB, Friesen JB, Chen SN, Graham J, Pauli GF | title = Can Invalid Bioactives Undermine Natural Product-Based Drug Discovery? | journal = Journal of Medicinal Chemistry | volume = 59 | issue = 5 | pages = 1671–1690 | date = March 2016 | pmid = 26505758 | pmc = 4791574 | doi = 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.5b01009 }}</ref> although some derivatives of curcumin such as [[EF-24]] have seen a significant amount of research.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=He |first1=Yonghan |last2=Li |first2=Wen |last3=Hu |first3=Guangrong |last4=Sun |first4=Hui |last5=Kong |first5=Qingpeng |title=Bioactivities of EF24, a Novel Curcumin Analog: A Review |journal=Frontiers in Oncology |date=11 December 2018 |volume=8 |page=614 |doi=10.3389/fonc.2018.00614 |pmid=30619754 |pmc=6297553 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Factors that limit the bioactivity of curcumin or its analogs include chemical instability, water insolubility, absence of potent and selective target activity, low bioavailability, limited tissue distribution, and extensive metabolism.<ref name=nelson/>  Very little curcumin escapes the [[GI tract]] and most is excreted in feces unchanged.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Metzler M, Pfeiffer E, Schulz SI, Dempe JS | title = Curcumin uptake and metabolism | journal = BioFactors | volume = 39 | issue = 1 | pages = 14–20 | date = 2013 | pmid = 22996406 | doi = 10.1002/biof.1042 | s2cid = 8763463 }}</ref>  If curcumin enters plasma in reasonable amounts, there is a high risk of toxicity since it is promiscuous, and interacts with several proteins known to increase the risk of adverse effects, including [[hERG]], [[cytochrome P450]]s, and [[glutathione S-transferase]].<ref name=nelson/>