Curcumol (Cur), a guaiane-type sesquiterpenoid hemiketal, is an important and representative bioactive component extracted from the essential oil of the rhizomes of Curcumae rhizoma which is also known as “Ezhu” in traditional Chinese medicine. Recently, Cur has received considerable attention from the research community due to its favorable pharmacological activities, including anti-cancer, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-convulsant, and other activities, and has also exerted therapeutic effect on various cancers, liver diseases, inflammatory diseases, and infectious diseases. Pharmacokinetic studies have shown that Cur is rapidly distributed in almost all organs of rats after intragastric administration with high concentrations in the small intestine and colon. Several studies focusing on structure–activity relationship (SAR) of Cur have shown that some Cur derivatives, chemically modified at C-8 or C-14, exhibited more potent anti-cancer activity and lower toxicity than Cur itself. This review aims to comprehensively summarize the latest advances in the pharmacological and pharmacokinetic properties of Cur in the last decade with a focus on its anti-cancer and hepatoprotective potentials, as well as the research progress in drug delivery system and potential applications of Cur to date, to provide researchers with the latest information, to highlighted the limitations of relevant research at the current stage and the aspects that should be addressed in future research. Our results indicate that Cur and its derivatives could serve as potential novel agents for the treatment of a variety of diseases, particularly cancer and liver diseases.

姜黄酚（Cur）是一种愈创木酚型倍半萜半缩酮，是从姜黄根茎精油中提取的一种重要且具有代表性的生物活性成分，姜黄在中药中又称“莪术”。近年来，Cur因其良好的药理活性而受到研究界的广泛关注，包括抗癌、保肝、抗炎、抗病毒、抗惊厥等活性，并对多种癌症也发挥了治疗作用。 、肝脏疾病、炎症性疾病和感染性疾病。药代动力学研究表明，Cur灌胃后迅速分布于大鼠几乎所有器官，在小肠和结肠中浓度较高。几项针对 Cur 构效关系 (SAR) 的研究表明，一些经过 C-8 或 C-14 化学修饰的 Cur 衍生物比 Cur 本身表现出更有效的抗癌活性和更低的毒性。本综述旨在全面总结近十年来Cur药理和药代动力学特性的最新进展，重点关注其抗癌和保肝潜力，以及迄今为止在药物递送系统和潜在应用方面的研究进展，为研究人员提供最新信息，突出现阶段相关研究的局限性以及未来研究应解决的方面。我们的结果表明，Cur 及其衍生物可以作为治疗多种疾病，特别是癌症和肝脏疾病的潜在新药。