Ageing or senescence is part of human life development with many effects on the physical, mental, and physiological aspects which may lead to age-related deterioration in many organs. Genus Curcuma family Zingiberaceae represents one of the well-studied and medically important genera with more than eighty species. The genus is reported to contain different classes of biologically active compounds that are mainly presented in diphenylheptanoids, diphenylpentanoids, diphenylalkanoids, phenylpropene derivatives, alkaloids, flavonoids, chromones, terpenoids, phenolic acids and volatile constituents. Rhizomes and roots of such species are rich with main phytoconstituents viz. curcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bis-demethoxycurcumin.

A wide variety of biological activities were demonstrated for different extracts and essential oils of genus Curcuma members including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic and neuroprotective. Thus, making them as an excellent safe source for nutraceutical products and as a continuous promising area of research on lead compounds that may help in the slowing down of the aging process especially the neurologic and mental deterioration that are usually experienced upon ageing.

The vast array of biological activities played by the members of genus Curcuma has positioned them as an important part of the research targets, especially those against aging and senile-related diseases ^[1]. Alzheimer, Parkinson’s and dementia together with many neurologic defects that accompany aging are usually the result of oxidative stress and prolonged inflammation thus the presence of strong antioxidants and anti-inflammatory effects played by Curcuma extracts may help in slowing down or reversing such deteriorations ^[2].

Curcumin effect on the brain age-related disorders was the focus of one article where the neuroprotective, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity effects of curcumin were detailed. Curcumin showed neurologic protection via its effect on oxidative stress proteins and its anti-inflammatory activity against inflammation of the microgalia. ^[3]

Younger adults appeared to experience significantly more psychological distress than older adults, and poor mental health has been linked to cognitive issues. Polling from Gallup found that depression rates for different age groups, which were relatively similar prepandemic, shot up for adults under 45 during the pandemic, while remaining flat for older adults. People with disabilities might have taken note of rising disability acceptance and become more likely to answer the census questions honestly, researchers say. Some young people may have been influenced by what disability researchers describe as increased awareness and acceptance of neurodiversity during the pandemic, as videos about mental illness and developmental disorders proliferated online, often encouraging people to self-diagnose. There was also an increase in advertisements for A.D.H.D. medication.

Reference

1.Chemical constituents and biological research on plants in the genus Curcuma. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2017;57(7):1451–523.

2.Bioactive chemical constituents of Curcuma longa L. rhizomes extract inhibit the growth of human hepatoma cell line (HepG2). Acta Pharma. 2016;66(3):387–3980.

3.Genus Curcuma: chemical and ethnopharmacological role in aging process. BMC Complement Med Ther 24, 31 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-023-04317-w