A Well-Known Plant and New Therapeutic Strategies: Turmeric and Its Components in Oral Inflammatory Diseases Treatment

Abstract

Turmeric has been known for centuries as a spice and an important element of traditional medicine. Nowadays, plant-derived compounds are still an object of extensive scientific investigations aiming at the development of novel drugs and dosage forms. Turmeric and its most important component, curcumin, reveal numerous interesting biological properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity. Numerous scientific studies focusing on various aspects of the activity of turmeric-derived compounds show that curcuminoids display an enormous potential as active pharmaceutical ingredients useful in a wide spectrum of medical conditions. Oral diseases comprising both mild inflammations and severe life-threatening conditions are classified as the most common ones, affecting an enormous part of the global population. In this review, the current research regarding turmeric and its constituents in oral diseases is summarized and discussed, with special attention paid to novel findings and future directions regarding scientific exploration of curcuminoids.