Synthetic Analogues of Curcumin: The Search for Anticancer and Antioxidant Activities

Curcumin, a key component of Curcuma longa L.'s rhizome, has a wide range of biological activities, as evidenced by intensive research over the last five decades. Curcumin has recently been utilized as an alternative medical ingredient in Southeast Asia to cure a variety of diseases, including stomach trouble, flatulence, jaundice, arthritis, sprains, wounds, skin infections, etc. Curcumin has also been shown to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer properties. Medicinal chemists employ rational structural modifications to improve the pharmacokinetic properties of a potential candidate to make them a therapeutically useful candidate. The objective of the chapter is to summarise the various modifications that have been carried out in curcumin’s structural framework concerning its medicinal property. An elaborate discussion will be presented on antioxidant and anticancer activities.