Hepatoprotective effect of curcumin in lipopolysaccharide/D-galactosamine model of liver injury in rats: Relationship to HO-1/CO antioxidant system

This work studied a relationship between HO-1/CO system and lipid peroxidation with consequent effects on liver functions and NOS-2. We focused on curcumin pretreatment in rat toxic model of D-galactosamine and lipopolysaccharide. Hepatocyte viability, lipid peroxidation, antioxidant status. ALT and AST were evaluated. HO-1 and NOS-2 expressions and respective enzyme activity were determined. Curcumin caused decreases in ALT and AST levels as well as in lipid peroxidation. Furthermore, curcumin pretreatment increased liver HO-1 (2.4-fold, p = 0.001), but reduced NOS-2 (4.1-fold, p = 0.01) expressions. In conclusion, the tuning of CO/NO pathways is important in shedding light on curcumin's cytoprotective effects in this model. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.