Effect of Curcumin on the metal ion induced fibrillization of Amyloid-β peptide

The effect of Curcumin on Cu(II) and Zn(II) induced oligomerization and protofibrillization of the amyloid-beta (A beta) peptide has been studied by spectroscopic and microscopic methods. Curcumin could significantly reduce the beta-sheet content of the peptide in a time dependent manner. It also plays an antagonistic role in beta-sheet formation that is promoted by metal ions like Cu(II) and Zn(II) as observed by Circular Dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. Atomic force microscopic (AFM) images show that spontaneous fibrillization of the peptide occurs in presence of Cu(II) and Zn(II) but is inhibited on incubation of the peptide with Curcumin indicating the beneficial role of Curcumin in preventing the aggregation of A beta peptide. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.