Curcumin is the non-nutritive, non-toxic compound in turmeric that has been used for centuries in India and all over the world as a dietary spice and as an herbal medicine for treatment of wounds, jaundice, and rheumatoid arthritis. In addition, curcumin inhibits the proliferation of a variety of tumour cells and has anti-metastatic activity. Curcumin has numerous biological properties including anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, anti-HIV-1 integrase, chemopreventive, anti-inflammatory, and anti-angiogenesis activities.

The present invention describes novel hydrazino derivatives of curcumin with enhanced stability and process for preparation thereof. The said process comprises reacting curcumin or curcumin analogues with azo compounds in presence of a base to yield the final compound of formula 5 and formula 5’. The compounds of the present invention function as highly potent chemotherapeutic agents.

Indian patent application no. 1568/MUM/2008 Patent grant no. 254150
Inventors: IIN Namboothiri, D Panda, I Deb, A Mehta, and V Wadhawan