ReviewFrontiers in psychiatry2020
Curcumin in Depression: Potential Mechanisms of Action and Current Evidence-A Narrative Review.
Review in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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
41 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 102 citations in OpenAlex.
- Targeting cognitive aging with curcumin supplementation: A systematic review and meta-analysis.The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease · 2025Pooled it
- Trial
- Therapeutic potentials of curcumin in prostate cancer: a comprehensive review of pathways and clinical prospects.Prostate international · 2026Review
- Medicinal Plants for Major Depressive Disorder.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- Management of depression utilizing Traditional Chinese Medicine.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Effects of curcumin on depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in adults: a GRADE-assessed systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis.Food & nutrition research · 2026Article
- Neurotoxic and neurobehavioral impacts of silica nanoparticles on brain tissue of albino rats with the potential ameliorative efficacy of liposomal curcumin.Journal of molecular histology · 2025Article
- Curcumin Ameliorates Depressive-like Behaviors by Modulating mGluR2/PGC-1α-Mediated Glutamatergic Homeostasis and Mitochondrial Function.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Article
- Systemic Inflammation at the Crossroad of Major Depressive Disorder and Comorbidities: A Narrative Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Neuroactive Phytochemicals as Multi-Target Modulators of Mental Health and Cognitive Function: An Integrative Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Plant-Derived Nutraceuticals in Mental Health and Brain Function: Mechanisms of Action and Therapeutic Potential.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Curcumin as a promising therapeutic agent for diabetic neuropathy: from molecular mechanisms to functional recovery.Diabetology & metabolic syndrome · 2025Review
- Quercetin and Tranylcypromine Improve Memory, Behavioral Performance, and Cholinergic Function in Male Rats Subjected to Chronic Restraint Stress.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Evaluation of Nanocurcumin Effects on Depressive-Like Behaviors in Rats and Determination of Serum BDNF and Serotonin Levels.Brain and behavior · 2025Article
- Preliminary Investigation Into the Antidepressant Effects of a Novel Curcumin Analogue (CACN136) In Vitro and In Vivo.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Article
- Curcumin Solubility and Bioactivity Enhancement Through Amorphization with Tryptophan via Supercritical Fluid Technology.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Competitive Antagonism of Xylazine on α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors and Reversal by Curcuminoids.ACS chemical neuroscience · 2025Article
- Medicinal Plants for Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: A Systematic Review of Antiemetic, Chemosensitizing, and Immunomodulatory Mechanisms.Therapeutics and clinical risk management · 2025Review
- In silico identification of novel ligands targeting stress-related human FKBP5 protein in mental disorders.PloS one · 2025Article
- A Review on Current Aspects of Curcumin-Based Effects in Relation to Neurodegenerative, Neuroinflammatory and Cerebrovascular Diseases.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most prevalent and debilitating disorders. Current available treatments are somehow limited, so alternative therapeutic approaches targeting different biological pathways are being investigated to improve treatment outcomes. Curcumin is the main active component in the spice turmeric that has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine to treat a variety of conditions, including anxiety and depressive disorders. In the past decades, curcumin has drawn researchers' attention and displays a broad range of properties that seem relevant to depression pathophysiology. In this review, we break down the potential mechanisms of action of curcumin with emphasis on the diverse systems that can be disrupted in MDD. Curcumin has displayed, in a number of studies, a potency in modulating neurotransmitter concentrations, inflammatory pathways, excitotoxicity, neuroplasticity, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal disturbances, insulin resistance, oxidative and nitrosative stress, and endocannabinoid system, all of which can be involved in MDD pathophysiology. To date, a handful of clinical trials have been published and suggest a benefit of curcumin in MDD. With evidence that is progressively growing, curcumin appears as a promising alternative option in the management of MDD.
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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.