**1. Introduction**

Curcumin is the major polyphenol component extracted from the rhizomes of *Curcuma longa (C. longa)* [1]. *Curcuma longa* (**Figure 1**) is a perennial herb of the Zingiberaceae family, which is commonly known as turmeric. The rhizome of *C. longa* is rectangular, egg-shaped, pyriform, and has a short branching pattern [1]. Across the globe, this tropical and subtropical plant is widely cultivated in Asia, mostly in India and China [2]. This plant is also cultivated in other regions, including Brazil [3], Nepal [4], Indonesia [5], Jamaica [6], and Pakistan [7, 8]. It was the Polish scientists who first proposed the curcumin structure in 1910 [9]. Curcumin is also known as diferuloylmethane and its IUPAC name is (1E,6E)-1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3 methoxyphenyl)-1,6-heptadiene-3,5-dione, with a chemical formula of C21H20O6 and, has a molecular weight of 368.38 [10]. Ever since the first isolation of curcumin by two Harvard college scientists, Vogel and Pelletier in 1815 [11], the interest in curcumin and its derivatives have grown steadily and many studies have discovered their biofunctional properties such as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-tumor and antioxidant activities [12, 13]. Despite being naturally derived, curcumin's derivatives (**Table 1**) are produced by a chemical reaction of aryl-aldehydes with acetylacetone,

**Figure 1.** *A & B:* Curcuma longa *plant (https://www.istockphoto.com) and the structure of curcumin.*

as a result of this assembly method, multiple chemical analogs can be obtained, for example, compounds in which the middle carbon of the linker (C7) is substituted with an alkyl group [23–25]. A structural modification of curcumin produces compounds with multiple biological activities, such as those useful in the treatment of diabetes, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases [26].

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has confirmed curcumin to be safe [27]. Several studies have found that curcumin and its derivatives may have antiinflammatory, antibacterial, antidiabetic, antioxidant, and anticancer benefits (**Table 1**). To possess an anti-inflammatory effect, curcumin blocks the activation of transcription factors, for example, nuclear factor κB (NF-kB), which regulates the expression of pro-inflammatory gene products [28, 29]. The literature on the antibacterial effects of curcumin shows that it damages the cell membranes [30], induces the expression of apoptotic inducers including reactive oxygen species (ROS) [31], and disrupt prokaryotic cell division by inhibiting FtsZ assembly [32]. To relieve diabetic complications, curcumin has been shown to reduce triglycerides levels and inflammation indicators [33]. During inflammation, cyclooxygenase (COX-2) and other pro-inflammatory indicators such NF-κB are produced in greater quantities, these inflammation indicators cause the initiation and development of cancer, thus they are reduced by curcumin [33–35]. Curcumin also prevented the development and progression of cancer by acting as a strong antioxidant agent by regulating the production of ROS, which influence the tumor microenvironment [36]. Additionally, curcumin exerts its anticancer activity by targeting NF-kB, which regulates the expression of proteins such as interleukin (IL)-1, implicated in multiple cell signaling

*Germicidal and Antineoplastic Activities of Curcumin and Curcumin-Derived Nanoparticles DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.103076*


#### **Table 1.**

*Structures and activities of curcumin and curcumin derivatives/analogs.*

pathways linked to cancer progression and inflammation [25, 37]. Despite its therapeutic potential, curcumin's poor aqueous solubility and low bioavailability remain a challenge [13, 38, 39]. Below we will compare literature on the antibacterial and anticancer activities of curcumin, incorporating nanoformulation as an area that can be explored to fix the therapeutic challenges associated with curcumin.
