Abstract

BackgroundAntioxidants have shown great promise in stroke prevention. Diarylheptanoids (also known as diphenylheptanoids) are a small class of plant secondary metabolites that possess antioxidant activity greater than that of α-tocopherol. Curcumin is the best known member and is mainly extracted from turmeric. This study aimed to explore whether curcumin has a preventive effect on stroke.MethodsStroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRsp) were randomly divided into control group (n = 10) and curcumin group (n = 10), and saline or curcumin (100 mg/kg/day) was administrated daily. Vascular endothelial function was examined by the relaxation of the artery in response to acetylcholine (ACH). The levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) were measured by using dihydroethidium (DHE) and 4, 5-diaminofluorescein (DAF-2 DA), respectively. The expression of uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) was examined by RT-PCR and immunoblotting.ResultsAdministration of curcumin significantly delayed the onset of stroke and increased the survival of SHRsp, which was ascribed to decreased ROS and improved endothelial dependent relaxation of carotid arteries. In the presence of UCP2 inhibitor genipin, both curcumin-mediated decrease of ROS and increase of NO production were blocked.ConclusionOur study suggests that curcumin exerts a stroke preventive effect by attenuating oxidative stress to improve vascular endothelial function, which might be associated with UCP2 signaling.

Highlights

  • Antioxidants have shown great promise in stroke prevention

  • Results showed that curcumin treatment did not influence blood pressure (n = 10 each group; Fig. 1a and Table 1), body weight (n = 10 each group; Fig. 1b and Table 1) and the ratio of brain weight (g)/body weight of Stroke-prone Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHRsp) (n = 10 each group; Fig. 1c and Table 1)

  • Curcumin treatment delayed the onset of stroke and increased survival time To investigate whether curcumin treatment has a preventive effect on stroke, we observed the occurrence of stroke and death in all SHRsp with or without curcumin treatment

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Summary

Introduction

Antioxidants have shown great promise in stroke prevention. This study aimed to explore whether curcumin has a preventive effect on stroke. Stroke is an important cause of mortality and morbidity, accompanied with heavy economic and social burden worldwide. Great advances have been made on the therapy of stroke, mortality and disability remain high. The absolute number of people affected by stroke worldwide increases significantly over years [1]. Prevention of stroke has been a major public health priority. Preventive strategies targeting high-risk individuals including diet and lifestyle changes have been proposed. Mounting evidence showed that increase in the consumption of fruits is associated with reduced risk of stroke [2, 3]. The potential mechanism of dietary factors on stroke is not fully understood

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