S. Awasthi et al., CURCUMIN PROTECTS AGAINST 4-HYDROXY-2-TRANS-NONENAL-INDUCED CATARACT FORMATION IN RAT LENSES, The American journal of clinical nutrition, 64(5), 1996, pp. 761-766
Age-related cataractogenesis is a significant health problem worldwide
. Oxidative stress has been suggested to be a common underlying mechan
ism of cataractogenesis, and augmentation of the antioxidant defenses
of the ocular lens has been shown to prevent or delay cataractogenesis
. The present studies were designed to test the efficacy of curcumin,
an antioxidant present in the commonly used spice turmeric, in prevent
ing cataractogenesis in an in vitro rat model. Rats were maintained on
an AIN-76 diet (ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc, Cleveland) for 2 wk, after w
hich they were given a daily dose of corn oil alone or 75 mg curcumin/
kg in corn oil for 14 d. Their lenses were removed and cultured for 72
h in vitro in the presence or absence of 100 mu mol 4-hydroxy-2-nonen
al (4-HNE)/L, a highly electrophilic product of lipid peroxidation. Th
e results of these studies showed that 4-HNE caused opacifications of
cultured lenses as indicated by the measurements of transmitted light
intensity using digital image analysis. However, the lenses from curcu
min-treated rats were much more resistant to 4-HNE-induced opacificati
on than were lenses from control animals. Curcumin treatment caused a
significant induction of the glutathione S-transferase (GST) isozyme r
GST8-8 in rat lens epithelium. Because rGST8-8 utilizes 4-HNE as a pre
ferred substrate, we suggest that the protective effect of curcumin ma
y be mediated through the induction of this CST isozyme. These studies
suggest that curcumin may be an effective protective agent against ca
taractogenesis induced by lipid peroxidation.