Abstract:

Stroke is the primary cause for permanent disability in adults worldwide，and characterized by the obvious neurological deficit symptoms resulted from acute blood circulation disorder. Two pathological damage processes involved in stroke，including primary brain injury caused by ischemia and ischemia-reperfusion injury caused by rapid blood flow recovery，and the latter one plays more important role in causing death and disability in stroke patients. Curcumin，which is the main active component in the dried rhizome of Curcuma longa L.，possesses a wide range of pharmacological activities. This review based on the pathological mechanism of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury，including mitochondrial dysfunction，oxidative stress，neuroinflammation，excitatory amino acid toxicity，calcium overload and programmed death of neurons，discussed the pharmacological benefit of curcumin in alleviating cerebral ischemiareperfusion injury，and hopes to provide theoretical basis for the mechanism study and the development of curcumin.

Key words: turmeric, brain ischemia/reperfusion injury, pharmaceutical benefit