STAT3 and irritable bowel syndrome: Recent studies have shown that the various molecular signaling pathways that participate in IBD development are targeted by curcumin, including PPAR-gamma, P13K, TLR-4, Akt, mTOR, ERK5, AP1, TGF-β, PAK1, Wnt, β-catenin, Shh, Rac1, p38MAPK, EBPα, NLRP3 inflammasome, Nrf2, Notch-1, AMPK, STAT3 and MyD-88 [230,231] Autophagy suppression has been linked with an excessive inflammatory response in IBD.