ArticleBlood2009
Curcumin, a cancer chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agent, is a biologically active iron chelator.
Article in Blood, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 119 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
119 citing papers in PubMed, 265 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of curcumin on inflammatory biomarkers and iron profile in patients with premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea: A randomized controlled trial.Physiological reports · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Curcuminoids supplementation ameliorates iron overload, oxidative stress, hypercoagulability, and inflammation in non-transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia/Hb E patients.Annals of hematology · 2021Trial
- Treatment of β-Thalassemia/Hemoglobin E with Antioxidant Cocktails Results in Decreased Oxidative Stress, Increased Hemoglobin Concentration, and Improvement of the Hypercoagulable State.Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity · 2015Trial
- Potential Antidote Against Lead Toxicity-A Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Curcumin and Cancer-Related Inflammation.Nutrients · 2026Review
- A Tolerance Study of Turmeric Extract in Healthy Adult Cats.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Dietary polyphenols and hepatocellular carcinoma: protective mechanisms, challenges, and future directions.Discover oncology · 2026Review
- The critical role of ferroptosis in thyroid cancer development and potential therapeutic implications.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- Targeting hepcidin to restore oral iron efficacy after vertical sleeve gastrectomy.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Curcumin, a bioactive supplement for premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea: A systematic review of randomised clinical trials.European journal of obstetrics & gynecology and reproductive biology: X · 2025Review
- Curcumin as an Antioxidant Against Ziprasidone Induced Lipid Peroxidation in Human Plasma: Potential Relevance to Cortico Subcortical Circuit Function.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Herbal Medicine for Colorectal Cancer Treatment: Molecular Mechanisms and Clinical Applications.Cell proliferation · 2025Review
- Protective role of curcumin and selenium nanoparticles against aluminium chloride-induced hepatorenal toxicity in rats.Journal of molecular histology · 2025Article
- Synergic Treatment of Plant-Based Antioxidants with Iron Chelators for Iron Overload in Transfusion-Dependent-Thalassemia Patients: A Systematic Review.International journal of hematology-oncology and stem cell research · 2025Review
- Phytotherapy and the Role of Bioactive Compounds in Modulating Mechanisms of Overweight and Obesity Comorbid with Depressive Symptoms-A Scoping Review of Mechanisms of Action.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Iron at the crossroads of host-microbiome interactions in health and disease.Nature microbiology · 2025Review
- Article
- Curcumin and neuroplasticity: epigenetic mechanisms underlying cognitive enhancement in aging and neurodegenerative disorders.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2025Review
- Biopreservation and reversal of oxidative injury during blood storage by a novel curcumin-based gel formulation.Scientific reports · 2024Article
59 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Curcumin is a natural product currently in human clinical trials for a variety of neoplastic, preneoplastic, and inflammatory conditions. We previously observed that, in cultured cells, curcumin exhibits properties of an iron chelator. To test whether the chelator activity of curcumin is sufficient to induce iron deficiency in vivo, mice were placed on diets containing graded concentrations of both iron and curcumin for 26 weeks. Mice receiving the lowest level of dietary iron exhibited borderline iron deficiency, with reductions in spleen and liver iron, but little effect on hemoglobin, hematocrit, transferrin saturation, or plasma iron. Against this backdrop of subclinical iron deficiency, curcumin exerted profound 2 effects on systemic iron, inducing a dose-dependent decline in hematocrit, hemoglobin, serum iron, and transferrin saturation, the appearance of microcytic anisocytotic red blood cells, and decreases in spleen and liver iron content. Curcumin repressed synthesis of hepcidin, a peptide that plays a central role in regulation of systemic iron balance. These results demonstrate that curcumin has the potential to affect systemic iron metabolism, particularly in a setting of subclinical iron deficiency. This may affect the use of curcumin in patients with marginal iron stores or those exhibiting the anemia of cancer and chronic disease.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.