Abstract
BackgroundCurcumin, a natural polyphenolic substance, has been known for more than two millennia as having strong anti-inflammatory activity towards multiple ailments, including arthritis. The main drawback of curcumin is its poor solubility in water, which leads to low intestinal absorption and minimal bioavailability. In this study, we aimed to compare the anti-arthritic in vivo effect of different curcumin preparations – basic curcumin extract, micellar curcumin, curcumin mixture with piperine, and microencapsulated curcumin.MethodsArthritis was induced in Wistar rats by complete Freund’s adjuvant, and the severity of arthritis was evaluated daily using the arthritis score system. Curcumin preparations were given to animals per os daily for 20 consecutive days, starting at 6th day after arthritis induction. To determine the inflammatory background, pro-inflammatory cytokines were determined using the ELISA test. In addition, hematologic test, weight change, and limb swelling were tracked.ResultsOur results indicate that curcumin had a rather weak effect on arthritis progression in the Wistar rat model, microencapsulated curcumin effectively prevented the progression of arthritis – the disease stabilized after 10 days of supplementation. It also reduced the levels of immune cells (neutrophils and leukocytes), as well as pro-inflammatory cytokines – TNFα, IL-1, and IL-6, which levels were close to arthritis-free control. Other formulations of curcumin had lower or no effect on arthritis progression.ConclusionOur study shows that the same concentrations of curcumin had a distinctly expressed positive anti-inflammatory effect depending on the form of its delivery. Specifically, we found that microencapsulated curcumin had the most promising effect for treatment.Graphical abstract
Highlights
Curcumin, a natural polyphenolic substance, has been known for more than two millennia as having strong anti-inflammatory activity towards multiple ailments, including arthritis
This study aimed to evaluate the impact of different curcumin preparations in alleviating arthritis symptoms and inflammatory background
Consistent evaluation of arthritis score after Adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) initiation showed that treatment with different curcumin preparations delayed the onset of arthritis symptoms; due to the data scattering, no significant effects were observed (Fig. 1.c-f)
Summary
A natural polyphenolic substance, has been known for more than two millennia as having strong anti-inflammatory activity towards multiple ailments, including arthritis. Arthritis is a systemic disease characterized by inflammation of multiple joints affecting joint cartilage. 3% of the worldwide population is affected by this disease [1] It causes physical discomfort and pain and places a person at an increased risk of work disability as arthritis usually starts in people aged between 30 and 40 years [1]. NSAI Ds decrease both arthritis inflammation as well as pain, there is enough evidence that they increase the risk of gastrointestinal and cardiovascular complications, mainly due to the prolonged usage of large doses [2]
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