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World J Gastroenterol. Dec 28, 2013; 19(48): 9256-9270
Published online Dec 28, 2013. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i48.9256
Published online Dec 28, 2013. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i48.9256
Therapeutic potential of curcumin in digestive diseases
Pietro Dulbecco, Vincenzo Savarino, Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy
Author contributions: Both authors contributed to the search and analysis of literature and to the writing of the paper.
Correspondence to: Pietro Dulbecco, MD, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV6, 16132 Genoa, Italy. pdulbecco@unige.it
Telephone: +39-10-3538956 Fax: +39-10-3538956
Received: July 26, 2013
Revised: September 10, 2013
Accepted: September 15, 2013
Published online: December 28, 2013
Revised: September 10, 2013
Accepted: September 15, 2013
Published online: December 28, 2013
Core Tip
Core tip: Curcumin is a well-established molecule with multiple pharmacological activities, mainly anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative. The major hurdle for a widespread clinical use has been represented by its poor bioavailability, which has been recently overcome by the development of a new formulation combining curcumin with phospholipids (curcumin-phytosome). This compound permits to improve markedly intestinal absorption of curcumin and guarantees a greater tissue delivery than the traditional curcuminoid mixtures. So, curcumin-phythosome has the potential to be exploited in many gastrointestinal diseases, both functional and organic.