pharmaceuticals Review Mechanistic Insight into the Effects of Curcumin on Neuroinflammation-Driven Chronic Pain Hasriadi 1 , Peththa Wadu Dasuni Wasana 1 , Opa Vajragupta 2 , Pornchai Rojsitthisak 3,4 and Pasarapa Towiwat 3,5,* 1 Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology Program, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand;
[email protected] (H.);
[email protected] (P.W.D.W.) 2 Research Affairs, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand;
[email protected] 3 Natural Products for Ageing and Chronic Diseases Research Unit, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand;
[email protected] 4 Department of Food and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand 5 Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +66-2-218-8319 Abstract: Chronic pain is a persistent and unremitting condition that has immense effects on patients’ quality of life. Studies have shown that neuroinflammation is associated with the induction and progression of chronic pain. The activation of microglia and astrocytes is the major hallmark of spinal neuroinflammation leading to neuronal excitability in the projection neurons. Excessive activation of microglia and astrocytes is one of the major contributing factors to the exacerbation of pain. However, the current chronic pain treatments, mainly by targeting the neuronal cells, remain ineffective and Citation: Hasriadi; Dasuni Wasana, P.W.; Vajragupta, O.; Rojsitthisak, P.; unable to meet the patients’ needs. Curcumin, a natural plant product found in the Curcuma genus, Towiwat, P. Mechanistic Insight into improves chronic pain by diminishing the release of inflammatory mediators from the spinal glia.