Existing confusion about the term "curcumin" and the CDS has already led to many incomparable and/or irreproducible reported biological results. While describing the phytochemical composition of any crude DS material is an established requirement for the accurate biological evaluation of the potential therapeutic value of DS. This basic tenet does not apply to the majority of CDS: their popularity as both a product and a research target, along with a frequent lack of specificity including in documentation, has blurred the lines between the single constituent, the plant extract stage, and all intermediate stages [see (i)-(v) above] of products. Pharmacokinetic properties complicate the matter further: curcumin (1; Scheme 1), the single compound, is very poorly absorbed, as are its congeners, demethoxycurcumin (2) and bisdemethoxycurcumin (3).