Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Curcumin on Insulin Resistance Index, Levels of Interleukin-6, C-Reactive Protein, and Liver Histology in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome-Induced Rats

Mohammadi, Shima; Karimzadeh Bardei, Latifeh; Hojati, Vida; Ghorbani, Azita; Nabiuni, Mohammad

doi:10.22074/cellj.2017.4415

Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Curcumin on Insulin Resistance Index, Levels of Interleukin-6, C-Reactive Protein, and Liver Histology in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome-Induced Rats

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran

² Laboratorys Animal Center and Cellular and Molecular Research Laboratory, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran

³ Department of Biology, Damghan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Damghan, Iran

⁴ 4Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran

10.22074/cellj.2017.4415

Abstract

Objective
Curcumin protects the liver against injury and fibrosis through suppressing hepatic inflammation, attenuating hepatic oxidative stress (OS), and inhibiting hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) activation. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are considered as common metabolic disorders. Low-grade chronic inflammation with different markers, such as elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels, play a crucial role in PCOS. This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effects of curcumin on IL-6 and CRP levels as well as insulin resistance (IR) index on liver function in PCOS rats.
Materials and Methods
In this experimental study, 90 adult Wistar rats were divided into control (n=18), sham (n=18), PCOS (n=18) and curcumin-treated PCOS groups (n=36). PCOS group was injected subcutaneously with 2 mg estradio-valerate (E2V). After 60 days, PCOS group was treated with curcumin [100 and 300 mg/kg body weight (BW)] for 14 days and anesthetized by chloroform. Blood and liver samples were collected for histological and serological analyses. Data were analyzed using In-Stat 3 via one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).
Results
Histological and serological analyses showed a reduction in number of necrotic cells, IR index, as well as IL-6 and CRP levels in PCOS rats that were treated with various concentrations of curcumin.
Conclusion
In this study, curcumin decreased liver inflammation by induction of insulin sensitivity and reduction of hepatic necrosis. Therefore, curcumin may be considered as protective factor against inflammatory state of PCOS.

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