Turmerics References for Potent Antioxidants
1. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2007;595:105-25.
Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin.
Menon VP1, Sudheer AR.
Abstract
Curcumin, a yellow pigment from Curcuma longa, is a major component of turmeric and is commonly used as a spice and food-coloring agent. It is also used as a cosmetic and in some medical preparations.
The desirable preventive or putative therapeutic properties of curcumin have also been considered to be associated with its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Because free-radical-mediated peroxidation of membrane lipids and oxidative damage of DNA and proteins are believed to be associated with a variety of chronic pathological complications such as cancer, atherosclerosis, and neurodegenerative diseases,
curcumin is thought to play a vital role against these pathological conditions. The anti-inflammatory effect of curcumin is most likely mediated through its ability to inhibit cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), lipoxygenase (LOX), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS).
COX-2, LOX, and iNOS are important enzymes that mediate inflammatory processes. Improper upregulation of COX-2 and/or iNOS has been associated with the pathophysiology of certain types of human cancer as well as inflammatory disorders.
Because inflammation is closely linked to tumor promotion, curcumin with its potent anti-inflammatory property is anticipated to exert chemopreventive effects on carcinogenesis. Hence, the past few decades have witnessed intense research devoted to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin.
In this review, we describe both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin, the mode of action of curcumin, and its therapeutic usage against different pathological conditions.
PMID: 17569207 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
2. On the Antioxidant Mechanism of Curcumin: Classical Methods Are Needed To Determine Antioxidant Mechanism and Activity
L. Ross C. Barclay * and Melinda R. Vinqvist
Department of Chemistry, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada E4L 1G8
Kazuo Mukai ,† Hideo Goto ,† Yoshimi Hashimoto ,† Aiko Tokunaga ,† and Hidemitsu Uno ‡
Department of Chemistry and Advanced Instrumentation Center for Chemical Analysis, Ehime University, Matsuyama, 790-8577 Japan
Org. Lett., 2000, 2 (18), pp 2841–2843
DOI: 10.1021/ol000173t
Publication Date (Web): August 18, 2000
Copyright © 2000 American Chemical Society
Abstract
The antioxidant activity of curcumin (1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1,6-heptadiene-3,5-dione) was determined by inhibition of controlled initiation of styrene oxidation. Synthetic nonphenolic curcuminoids exhibited no antioxidant activity; therefore,
curcumin is a classical phenolic chain-breaking antioxidant, donating H atoms from the phenolic groups not the CH2 group as has been suggested (Jovanovic et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1999, 121, 9677). The antioxidant activities of o-methoxyphenols are decreased in hydrogen bond accepting media.
3. Detoxification and antioxidant effects of curcumin in rats experimentally exposed to mercury
Rakhi Agarwal1,†, Sudhir K. Goel2,* andJai Raj Behari1
Article first published online: 12 MAR 2010
DOI: 10.1002/jat.1517
Keywords:
mercury;curcumin;oxidative stress;antioxidant defense system;histopathology;MT expression
Abstract
Curcumin, a safe nutritional component and a highly promising natural antioxidant with a wide spectrum of biological functions,
has been examined in several metal toxicity studies, but its role in protection against mercury toxicity has not been investigated. Therefore, the detoxification and antioxidant effects of curcumin were examined to determine its prophylactic
/therapeutic role in rats experimentally exposed to mercury (in the from of mercuric chloride-HgCl2, 12 µmol kg−1 b.w. single intraperitoneal injection).
Curcumin treatment (80 mg kg−1 b.w. daily for 3 days, orally) was found to have a
protective effect on mercury-induced oxidative stress parameters, namely, lipid peroxidation and glutathione levels and superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase activities in the liver, kidney and brain.
Curcumin treatment was also effective for reversing mercury-induced serum biochemical changes, which are the markers of liver and kidney injury. Mercury
concentration in the tissues was also decreased by the pre/post-treatment with curcumin. However, histopathological alterations in the liver and kidney were not reversed by curcumin treatment.
Mercury exposure resulted in the induction of metallothionein (MT) mRNA expressions in the liver and kidney. Metallothionein mRNA expression levels were found to decrease after the pre-treatment with curcumin, whereas post-treatment with curcumin further increased MT mRNA expression levels.
Our findings suggest that curcumin pretreatment has a protective effect and that curcumin can be used as a therapeutic agent in mercury intoxication.
The study indicates that curcumin, an effective antioxidant, may have a protective effect through its routine dietary intake against mercury exposure.
4. Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry Volume 95, Issue 6, 2013
Protective effects of curcumin on antioxidant status, body weight gain, and reproductive parameters in male rats exposed to subchronic 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin
DOI:10.1080/02772248.2013.829061
Funda Gülcü Bulmuşa*, Fatih Sakinb, Gaffari Türkc, Mustafa Sönmezc & Kadir Servid
pages 1019-1029
Publishing models and article dates explained
Received: 24 May 2013
Accepted: 18 Jul 2013
Published online: 25 Aug 2013
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of curcumin (CUR) on antioxidant status, body weight (BW) gains, and some reproductive parameters in male rats exposed to subchronic doses of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD).
Thirty-two rats were divided into four groups. The first group was kept as control. The second group (TCDD group) was given TCDD at a dose of 50 ng·kg−1 BW per day; the third group (CUR group) was treated with CUR at a dose of 80 mg·kg−1 BW per day. The fourth group (TCDD + CUR group) was given TCDD and CUR at the same doses simultaneously. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were significantly increased in
the TCDD group. In addition, TCDD exposure decreased liver superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, catalase (CAT) activities of kidney and brain, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities of liver, kidney, and brain, and glutathione levels of liver, kidney, and heart. However, CUR treatment with TCDD exposure decreased MDA levels in all tissues and increased SOD activities of liver, kidney, and brain, CAT activity of heart, and GSH-Px activities of heart and brain. TCDD caused a decrease in BW gain, and CUR partially eliminated this effect of TCDD. In addition, while reproductive organ weights, sperm concentration, and sperm motility tended to decrease with TCDD exposure, these effects tended to be close to normal levels by CUR treatment.
In conclusion, CUR was seen to be effective in the treatment and prevention of toxicity induced by subchronic TCDD exposure.
5. Antioxid Redox Signal. 2005 Jan-Feb;7(1-2):32-41.
Curcumin induces glutathione biosynthesis and inhibits NF-kappaB activation and interleukin-8 release in alveolar epithelial cells: mechanism of free radical scavenging activity.
Biswas SK1, McClure D, Jimenez LA, Megson IL, Rahman I.
Abstract
Oxidants and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) activate transcription factors such as nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), which is involved in the transcription of proinflammatory mediators, including interleukin-8 (IL-8).
Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is a naturally occurring flavonoid present in the spice turmeric, which has a long traditional use as a chemotherapeutic agent for many diseases.
We hypothesize that curcumin may possess both antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties by increasing the glutathione levels and inhibiting oxidant- and cytokine-induced NF-kappaB activation and IL-8 release from cultured alveolar epithelial cells (A549). Treatment of A549 cells with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2; 100 microM) and TNF-alpha (10 ng/ml) significantly increased NF-kappaB and activator protein-1 (AP-1) activation, as well as IL-8 release. Curcumin inhibited both H2O2- and TNF-alpha-mediated activation of NF-kappaB and AP-1, and IL-8 release.
Furthermore, an increased level of GSH and glutamylcysteine ligase catalytic subunit mRNA expression was observed in curcumin-treated cells as compared with untreated cells. Curcumin
interacted directly with superoxide anion (O2*-) and hydroxyl radical (*OH) as shown by electron paramagnetic resonance, quenching the interaction of the radicals with the spin trap, Tempone-H. This suggests that curcumin has multiple properties: as
an oxygen radical scavenger, antioxidant through modulation of glutathione levels, and antiinflammatory agent through inhibition of IL-8 release in lung cells.
PMID: 15650394 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
