SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1638645
This article is part of the Research TopicUnraveling the Mechanisms of Psychiatry DisordersView all articles
Potential Therapeutic Benefits of Curcumin in Depression or Anxiety induced by chronic diseases: A Systematic Review of Mechanistic and Clinical Evidence
Provisionally accepted
- 1Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- 2Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
- 3The Affiliated Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
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Depression and anxiety are prevalent comorbidities in individuals with chronic diseases, significantly impairing their quality of life and complicating disease management. Curcumin, derived from turmeric (Curcuma longa), has garnered attention for its potential therapeutic benefits in alleviating symptoms of depression and anxiety. However, does curcumin exert a beneficial effect specifically on depressive or anxiety symptoms associated with chronic diseases (DACD)? This review aims to comprehensively evaluate curcumin's efficacy and underlying mechanisms through a meta-analysis of human clinical trials supplemented by findings from animal studies. Preclinical studies have identified several mechanistic pathways by which curcumin may alleviate DACD, including NF-κB, NLRP3, AKAP150/PKA/PP2B, miR-146a-5p/ERK, BDNF/TrkB, ROS-ERK1/2, GABA receptors, Keap1-Nrf2-ARE, and regulation of intestinal flora, but it mainly acts through anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. A systematic literature search of
Keywords: Curcumin, depressive, Anxiety, Chronic Disease, co-occurring disorders
Received: 09 Jun 2025; Accepted: 28 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yuan, Pi, Shen, Zhou, Wei, Dechsupa and Zhao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Yumeng Wei, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
Nathupakorn Dechsupa, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Ling Zhao, The Affiliated Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
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