Metabolic engineering of curcumin production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

[Excerpt] Background: Curcumin is the main active compound found in the rhizomes of turmeric (Curcuma longa) [1]. For centuries, turmeric rhizomes have been used in culinary and as natural yellow colouring agent. In addition, the curcumin rich rhizome extract has been used in Asian traditional medicine for the treatment of several disorders. Curcumin is composed by two phenolic groups connected by two α,β-unsaturated carbonyl groups and is chemically categorized as diarylheptanoid. The reported biological activities of curcumin include anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-cancer among others [2]. [...]This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/BIO/04469/2020 unit. J.R. is recipient of a doctoral fellowship (SFRH/BD/138325/2018) supported by a doctoral advanced training funded by FCT.