Several recent clinical studies have demonstrated a positive effect of turmeric/curcumin on a variety of medical conditions. Curcumin supplementation improved artery endothelial function and reduced oxidative stress, which is associated with cardiovascular disease, in healthy middle-aged and older adults.5 Curcumin also demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity by significant reduction of serum a...

The effects of extrahepatic cholestasis upon adrenergic regulation of glycogenolysis and upon the numbers of adrenoceptors in rat liver were studied using isolated hepatocytes and plasma membranes, respectively. A 60% decrease in the number of alpha 1 adrenoceptors (285 vs. 680 fmol/mg protein) and a simultaneous 2.7-fold increase in the number of beta adrenergic sites (67 vs. 25 fmol/mg protei...

OBJECTIVE To verify blood levels of vitamin D in patients with chronic cholestasis, and relate them to nutritional status, length of time since the onset of cholestasis and use of vitamin supplement. METHODS Controlled cross-sectional study with chronic cholestasis as study factor and blood levels of vitamin D as outcome. The study included patients aged between 4 months and 18 years, who wer...

One hundred and three infants with prolonged cholestasis beginning before 3 months were classified as having alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency (17 patients), scanty interlobular bile ducts (16 patients), or "neonatal hepatitis" (70 patients). Twenty-two gradually developed chronic liver disease and the remaining 81 recovered within a few months. Prognosis was found to be poor for infants with alph...

1. The aims of the present study were to explore the protective effect of curcumin against the acute vascular endothelial dysfunction induced by high glucose and to investigate the possible role of heme oxygenase (HO)-1 in this protective action. 2. Thoracic aortic rings, with or without endothelium, obtained from male Sprague-Dawley rats were mounted in an organ bath. Isometric contraction of ...

Curcumin has been observed to exhibit an anti-fibrotic effect in the liver, lung and gallbladder. However, the mechanisms underlying the cytoprotective effects of curcumin remain to be elucidated. The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of mature tubular epithelial cells in the kidney is considered to contribute to the renal accumulation of matrix proteins associated with diabetic nephro...

Curcumin is a natural polyphenol with powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The present study evaluated the protective effect of curcumin on myocardial injury in rats as well as the mechanisms underlying these effects, and examined the expression of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) and B-cell leukemia/lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) following ...

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, induced by the cryopreservation process, can be responsible for mammalian sperm damage. Curcumin is known as an effective antioxidant against oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of curcumin on sperm count, motility and viability, semen total antioxidant capacity and DNA integrity of rat spermatozoa during semen freeze-tha...

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of curcumin as an antioxidant to increase the expression of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in fibroblasts of the cochlear lateral wall in rat models of diabetes mellitus. Materials and Methods: Twenty-four male Wistar rats Rattus norvegicus were randomly divided into six groups: group 1 as the control group; group 2 as the diabeti...

Background: It has been suggested that curcumin may be useful in diseases with cognitive dysfunction because it slows the progression and leads to the improvement of cognitive functions. In this study, the protective effects of curcumin on scopolamine-induced rat models of cognitive impairment were evaluated. Methods: 21 male Wistar Albino rats, 1 year old, 200±25 grams, were included in the s...