The historic background of the Curcuma species begins in Far Eastern medicine and dates back 5,000 (Ayurveda) and 2,000 (Atharveda) years ago, respectively. The curcumin structure was first proposed by Polish scientists in 1910. Although curcumin generally refers to 1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1,6-heptadiene-3,5-dione, the compound is also known as “curcumin I”. In brief, curcumin is a diferuloylmethane with a crystalline yellow-orange colour, molecular weight of 368.39 g/mol, melting temperature of 183°C, and with the chemical formula C21H20O6.

Multiple biological effects on both health promotion and disease prevention have been recognized in curcumin and its derivatives ( Figure 3 ). Indeed, a bibliometric analysis performed by Yeung et al. (2019) revealed that the United States, China, India, Japan, and South Korea are the main contributors to the scientific advances found on curcumin bioactive effects, with the most focused being their anticancer, inflammatory, and antioxidant potential, as already stated by Xu et al. (2018). In the following sections, the pre-clinical and clinical data related to curcumin bioactive effects is briefly discussed and the respective mode of action cleared.

The pharmaceutical industry, specially areas focused on anticancer drugs formulations, comprises the largest application segment, accounting for over 50% of the global market, followed by food and cosmetic industries. Modern cosmetology tries to apply valuable raw plant materials in cosmetics products’ manufacturing, and ayurvedic skin care products are projected to be a significant financial boost to the cosmetic market over the coming years. Curcumin is, nowadays, used as an active compound in skin care preparations due its remarkable antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging effects.