**Preface to "Dietary Curcumin and Health Effects"**

Curcumin is a pleiotropic compound found in the rhizome of Curcuma longa (turmeric). Curcuma longa has been widely used as a spice for a long time, especially in Asian countries; however, the interest in this compound has been growing, and it is largely consumed as dietary component and supplement all around the world. The great interest in curcumin is due to a number of potential biological activities that this compound has demonstrated over time, and these are well documented by the 8601 papers—of which 229 are clinical trials—published in the last five years (retrieved from PubMed on 12 January 2022 using 'curcumin' as keyword). It is important to underline that since the majority of such studies were carried out in cellular and animal models, conclusive evidence of the real effectiveness of curcumin as preventive and therapeutic compound is still far from being reached, although the number of clinical trials addressing the potential therapeutic role of curcumin in a number of pathological and non-pathological conditions is growing every day. It is safe to say that, despite its reported benefits, one of the major drawbacks of ingesting curcumin is its poor bioavailability; thus, major efforts are needed to overcome this problem. The Special Issue "Dietary Curcumin and Health Effects" aimed to collect the most advanced evidence on the relationship between curcumin and health, with the final objective to improve research and move the field forward.

> **Roberta Masella and Francesca Cirulli** *Editors*
