Purpose: Anti-inflammatory proprieties of curcumin were proved to be useful in variousPurpose: Anti-inflammatory proprieties of curcumin were proved to be useful in variousdiseases, including diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to assess the anti-inflammatorycomparative effect of curcumin solution with liposomal curcumin formula, regarding theimprovement of serum levels of TNF-α (tumor necrosis factor-alpha), IL-6 (interleukin),IL-1α, IL-1β, MCP-1 (monocyte chemoattractant protein-1) and RANTES in experimentaldiabetes, induced by streptozotocin (STZ), in rats.
Materials and methods: Six groups of 7 rats were investigated regarding the effect of i.p.(intraperitoneal) administration of two concentrations of curcumin solution (CC1 and CC2) andtwo concentrations of liposomal curcumin (LCC1 and LCC2): group 1 – control group with i.p.administration of 1 mL saline solution, group 2 – i.p. STZ administration (60mg/kg bw, bw=bodyweight), group 3 – STZ+CC1 administration, group 4 – STZ+CC2 administration, group 5 – STZ+ LCC1 administration and group 6 – STZ+ LCC2 administration. The concentrations ofcurcumin formulas were 1 mg/0.1 kg bw for CC1 and LCC1 and 2 mg/0.1 kg bw for CC2 andLCC2, respectively. Serum levels of C-peptide (as an indicator of pancreatic function) andTNF-α, IL-6, IL-1α, IL-1β, MCP-1, and RANTES (as biomarkers for systemic inflammation)were assessed for each group.
Results: The plasma level of C-peptide showed significant improvements when LCC wasadministrated, with better results for LCC2 when compared to LCC1 (P<0.003). LCC2pretreatment proved to be more efficient in reducing the level of TNF-α (P<0.003) andRANTES (P<0.003) than CC2 pretreatment. Upon comparing LCC2 with LCC1 formulas,the differences were significant for TNF-α (P=0.004), IL-1β (P=0.022), and RANTES(P=0.003) levels.
Conclusion: Liposomal curcumin in a dose of 2 mg/0.1 kg bw proved to have an optimumtherapeutic effect as a pretreatment in DM induced by STZ. This result can constitute a basefor clinical studies for curcumin efficiency as adjuvant therapy in type 1 DM.Keywords: diabetes mellitus, inflammation, curcumin, cytokine