Curcumin Against Malaria: From Traditional Medicine to Development of Synthetic Analogs; A Bioorganic Approach

Curcumin is well known to possess diverse therapeutic properties, one of which is its antimalarial activity. It has been reported to show synergistic activity in combination with plant extracts like Andrographis paniculata and Hedyotis corymbosa as well as with standard drugs like artemisinin against malaria parasites. Individually it has shown potential in successfully combating both human and rodent malaria species. Its mode of action has been attributed to the inhibition of the histone acetyl transferase (HAT) enzyme and formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the malaria parasite leading to an increase in the intracellular ROS, causing cellular damage. Development of synthetic analogs of curcumin to augment its activity and to negate the effects of first pass metabolism, are being developed by researchers. In this article, we present an up to date review of the different traditional and scientific approaches involving curcumin, including its natural and synthetic analogs and in silico studies, specifically against malarial parasites which would be beneficial in understanding of the structure activity relationship and pave the way for designing and development of curcumin based agents with higher efficacy and therapeutic potential.