Abstract 4925: Curcumin, a polyphenol from the Curcuma longa, prevents mercuric chloride-induced liver damage through reversal of oxidative stress and biochemical changes
Authors: Agarwal Anshu , Saxena Prabhu Narayan 
Published: August 2018

Heavy metals globally exist in the environment, and their prolonged exposure causes various disease including cancer. Mercury is a toxic heavy metal. It has been shown to have multiple adverse effects on human health including the nervous system, renal, cardiovascular, hypertension, and weakening the immune system. It is ranked up among the priority heavy metals those affect human health significantly. In 2013, the United States Environmental Protection Agency reported the higher concentration of mercury in the blood of nearly 1.4 million women of reproductive age, and this increased the risk of learning disabilities associated with in-utero exposure. Due to the major excretory organ in the human body, the liver is the primary target sites for the accumulation of environmental heavy metal such as mercury. Phytochemicals have shown and proved their effectiveness against oxidative stress, inflammation, and cancers of several organs. Curcumin, a bioactive compound of turmeric, has been used for the treatment of several diseases including inflammatory disorders, cancer prevention, and various metal toxicities. Here, we investigate the effect of curcumin treatment on mercuric chloride induced hepatotoxicity using the in-vivo animal model system. For the purpose, experimental rats were administered mercury chloride (0.5mg/kg/body weight/day, orally) with and without curcumin (50 mg/kg body weight/day, orally) treatment in a time-dependent manner (7, 14, and 21 days). At the end of the study, we observed that the accumulation of mercury was higher in the liver of mercuric chloride alone group than the liver of non-curcumin treated rats measured using ICP-AES. A concomitant treatment of curcumin significantly reduces mercury accumulation up to 42-60% (p&lt;0.001). In addition to attenuation of the mercury accumulation, curcumin administration also improves the liver functions as assessed through alteration in the levels of serum biomarkers (AST, ALT, Alkaline phosphatase, and GGT). Next, we evaluated the effect of curcumin on oxidative stress markers lipid peroxidation and glutathione. Numerous studies have been shown that mercury mediated oxidative stress play a significant role in hepatotoxicity. The administration of curcumin significantly reduces lipid peroxidation upto 58% (p&lt;0.001) while restored glutathione level upto 39% (p&lt;0.01) compared with the mercuric chloride alone group. Histopathology observations of the liver also justify the effect of curcumin with biochemical findings. Altogether, our findings indicate that curcumin has potential to inhibit mercury-induced hepatotoxicity and may provide useful insights for the prevention of mercury toxicity.

Citation Format: Anshu Agarwal, Prabhu Narayan Saxena. Curcumin, a polyphenol from the Curcuma longa, prevents mercuric chloride-induced liver damage through reversal of oxidative stress and biochemical changes [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4925.