The Effect of Curcumin and Tocotrienol on the Development of Eye Disease

Abstract

There is growing evidence that inflammation may be one of the causative factors of many chronic diseases especially which is related to eyes such as cataract,age-related macular degeneration and uveitis. Several cytokines such as IL-1,IL-6, RANKL, OPG, and M-CSF were implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic diseases. Anticytokine therapy using cytokine antagonists such as IL-receptor antagonist and TNF-binding protein was able to suppress the activity of the respective cytokines and prevent bone loss. Few animal studies have shown that vitamin E in the forms of palm-derived tocotrienol and α-tocopherol may prevent chronic eye disease in rat models by suppressing IL-1 and IL-6. Free radicals are known to activate transcription factor NFκB which leads to the production of bone resorbing cytokines. Tocotrienol, a potent antioxidant, may be able to neutralize free radicals before they could activate NFκB, therefore suppressing cytokine production and inflammatory reaction. Curcumin is widely reported to have potent anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and anticarcinogenic effects. The anti-inflammatory action of curcumin seems to be closely related to inhibition of TNF-α and other inflammatory cytokines production and suppression of NF-κB activation by blocking phosphorylation of inhibitory factor I-kappa B kinase (IκB) Tocotrienol and curcuminhave also been shown to inhibit COX-2, the enzyme involved in inflammatory reactions of the these studied, tocotrienol seemed to be better than tocopherols in terms of its ability to suppress inflammation induced by cytokines.