[Reducing effect of curcumin on expressions of TNF-alpha, IL-6 and IL-8 in rats with chronic nonbacterial prostatitis].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of curcumin on the expressions of TNF-alpha, IL-6 and IL-8 in rats with chronic nonbacterial prostatitis.


METHODS
Sixty healthy adult male SD rats with the body weight of 200 -220 g were equally and randomly divided into a normal control, a positive control, a model, an oral curcumin and an intraperitoneal curcumin group. The rat models of chronic nonbacterial prostatitis were made by hypodermic injection of estradiol benzoate at the dose of 0.25 mg/(kg x d) for 30 days after castration, and then treated with curcumin at 200 mg/(kg x d) by gavage or intraperitoneal injection. The positive controls received oral celebrex at 250 mg/(kg x d), while the normal control and model groups were given saline by gavage. After a week of treatment, the levels of TNF-alpha, IL-6 and IL-8 in the serum and prostate tissues of the rats were detected by ELISA assay.


RESULTS
The levels of TNF-alpha and IL-8 in the serum and prostate tissues were significantly lower in the intraperitoneal curcumin than in the positive control group (P < 0.05), but the expression of IL-6 showed no significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
Curcumin is efficacious for chronic nonbacterial prostatitis in rats, and the action mechanism may be associated with its decreasing effect on the proinflammatory cytokines IL-8 and TNF-alpha in the blood and tissues.
Zhang
Qing-Yun
QY
Research Institute of Urology, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning , Guangxi 530021, China. zhangqingyun628@168.com
Mo
Zeng-Nan
ZN
Liu
Xi-Di
XD
D000818:Animals; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003474:Curcumin / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000378:metabolism; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008517:Phytotherapy; D011472:Prostatitis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D015850:Interleukin-6; D016209:Interleukin-8; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D003474:Curcumin