The protective effect of curcumin on the ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats

Objective: To investigate the effects and its mechanism of curcumin Cur on ischemia-reperfusion( I/R) injury in rats.Methods: Sixty rats were randomly divided into the sham operation group( group A),I / R group( group B),curcumin + I / R group( group C) and Cur + I/R + Zn-protoporphyrin group( group D)( 15 rats each group). group C and D were intraperitoneally injected with 100 mg / kg of curcumin before 5 days of operation,and group C were intraperitoneally injected with 20 μmol / kg of Zn-protoporphyrin before 60 mins of operation. Group A and B were injected with equivalent 0. 9% of sodium chloride. Except for group A,the bilateral renal blood vessels in other 3 groups were blocked,and poured into after 60 mins. The levels of serum creatinine( SCr),blood urea nitrogen( BUN),tumor necrosis factor-α( TNF-α),heme oxygenase-1( HO-1),intercellular adhesion molecule-1( ICAM-1)in 4 groups were measured after 4 h,12 h and 24 h of reperfusion. The kidney tissue was excised,and the levels of myeloperoxidase( MPO) activity in excised kidney tissue was measured. Results: The expression levels of SCr,BUN,TNF-α,ICAM-1 and MPO in group C and group D were higher and lower than those in group A and group B,respectively( P 0. 05 to P 0. 01). The expression levels of HO-1 in group C and group D were lower and higher than that in group A and group B,respectively( P 0. 05 to P 0. 01). The expression levels of TNF-α and ICAM-1 at each time-points in group D were higher than that in group C( P 0. 05 to P 0. 01). The expression levels of SCr and BUN in serum,and MPO in kidney tissue in group D at 12 h and 24 h were higher than that in group C( P 0. 05 to P 0. 01),the differences of whose at 4 h were not statistically significant( P 0. 05),the level of HO-1 at each time-points in group D was lower than that in group C( P 0. 05 to P 0. 01). Conclusions: Curcumin can protect the kidneys against I / R injury,and effectively relieve the inflammatory reaction and oxidative stress of kidney tissue. HO-1 may be involved in the renal protective mechanism of curcumin.