Title: The Concept of a Green Drug, Curcumin and It ’ s Derivatives as a Model System
Volume: 6
Issue: 2
Author(s): K. S. Raja, R. Balambika, S. Dolai and W. Shi
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Green drug, curcumin, traditional medicine, GRAS, renewable resource, derivative
Abstract: Only 5-15% of the ∼25000 existing species of plants have been examined for the presence of biologically active compounds. The ancient medical systems use a much larger palette of herbs for therapy. Systematic drug discovery involving using cues provided from traditional medical systems is bound to produce a new generation of green drugs. Curcumin the primary active ingredient in Curcuma longa is used as a model to enunciate the concept of green drug development. Synthetic and formulation based approaches to optimize the bioactivity of curcumin is presented.
