Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42650289›Full record

ReviewAntioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)2026

The Use of Curcumin to Target Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Its Complications: Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Perspectives.

Jia Zhang, Qipeng Shu, Yuntao Tang, Huilong Liu, Chenxi Zhang, Xiuhong Chen, Shangze Li

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Jia ZhangSchool of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China.
Qipeng ShuSchool of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China.ORCID 0000-0002-8373-4979
Yuntao TangSchool of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China.
Huilong LiuSchool of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China.
Chenxi ZhangSchool of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China.
Xiuhong ChenSchool of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China.
Shangze LiSchool of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China.ORCID 0000-0003-3134-532X

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 32270760
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by insulin resistance, pancreatic β-cell dysfunction, and dysregulated glucose and lipid metabolism. Sustained hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia promote excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, antioxidant defense depletion, and chronic low-grade inflammation, thereby aggravating insulin signaling impairment, β-cell injury, and diabetes-related complications. Although current glucose-lowering therapies have improved glycemic control, weight management, and cardiorenal outcomes, oxidative stress and inflammation remain incompletely addressed in many individuals with T2DM. Curcumin, a natural polyphenol derived from Curcuma longa L., exhibits antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, lipid-regulating, insulin-sensitizing, and tissue-protective activities. Evidence suggests that curcumin may alleviate T2DM-associated oxidative stress by suppressing ROS generation, reducing nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase activity, modulating the advanced glycation end-product/receptor for advanced glycation end-product (AGE/RAGE) axis, activating nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2/antioxidant response element (Nrf2/ARE) signaling, preserving mitochondrial homeostasis, and protecting β-cells. It may also inhibit nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinase/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (MAPK/JNK) signaling, decrease pro-inflammatory cytokines and C-reactive protein (CRP), improve metabolic tissue inflammation, and attenuate gut-derived inflammation by regulating gut microbiota and intestinal barrier function. However, current clinical evidence mainly supports modest improvements in metabolic, inflammatory, oxidative stress-related, and selected complication-related biomarkers rather than definitive disease-modifying outcomes. Moreover, formulation heterogeneity, low bioavailability, limited pharmacokinetic reporting, and insufficient long-term endpoint data remain major translational barriers. This review summarizes the molecular mechanisms, clinical evidence, formulation-dependent interpretation, safety considerations, and translational limitations of curcumin as a candidate adjunctive intervention for T2DM, rather than as a replacement for evidence-based antidiabetic therapy.

Indexed as

adjuvant interventionchronic inflammationcurcumininsulin resistancemolecular mechanismoxidative stresstype 2 diabetes mellitus

Identifiers

PMID42650289
PMCPMC13509823

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.