In recent decades, natural compounds derived from herbal medicine or dietary sources have played important roles in prevention and treatment of various diseases and have attracted more and more attention. Curcumin, extracted from the Curcumae Longae Rhizoma and widely used as food spice and coloring agent, has been proven to possess high pharmacological value. However, the pharmacological application of curcumin is limited due to its poor systemic bioavailability. As a major active metabolite of curcumin, tetrahydrocurcumin (THC) has higher bioavailability and stability than curcumin. Increasing evidence confirmed that THC had a wide range of biological activities and significant treatment effects on diseases. In this paper, we reviewed the research progress on the biological activities and therapeutic potential of THC on different diseases such as neurological disorders, metabolic syndromes, cancers, and inflammatory diseases. The extensive pharmacological effects of THC involve the modulation of various signaling transduction pathways including MAPK, JAK/STAT, NF-κB, Nrf2, PI3K/Akt/mTOR, AMPK, Wnt/β-catenin. In addition, the pharmacokinetics, drug combination and toxicology of THC were discussed, thus providing scientific basis for the safe application of THC and the development of its dietary supplements and drugs.

中文翻译：

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四氢姜黄素在疾病防治中的作用


近几十年来，源自草药或膳食来源的天然化合物在预防和治疗各种疾病方面发挥了重要作用，并引起了越来越多的关注。姜黄素是从姜黄中提取的，广泛用作食品香料和着色剂，已被证明具有很高的药理价值。然而，姜黄素的药理学应用由于其全身生物利用度差而受到限制。作为姜黄素的主要活性代谢物，四氢姜黄素（THC）比姜黄素具有更高的生物利用度和稳定性。越来越多的证据证实THC具有广泛的生物活性和对疾病显着的治疗作用。本文综述了THC对神经系统疾病、代谢综合征、癌症和炎症性疾病等不同疾病的生物活性和治疗潜力的研究进展。 THC 的广泛药理作用涉及多种信号转导途径的调节，包括 MAPK、JAK/STAT、NF-κB、Nrf2、PI3K/Akt/mTOR、AMPK、Wnt/β-catenin。此外，还对THC的药代动力学、药物组合和毒理学进行了讨论，为THC的安全应用及其膳食补充剂和药物的开发提供科学依据。