title: [Curcumin alleviated liver oxidative stress injury of rat induced by paraquat].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effect of curcumin on liver injury in rats induced by paraquat-mediated oxidative stress and the mechanism underlying its effect.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: control group, curcumin control group (curcumin 50 mg/kg), paraquat group (2% paraquat solution 100 mg/kg), and curcumin intervention group (curcumin 50 mg/kg at 15 min, 24 h, or 48 h after paraquat exposure). On days 1, 3, or 7 after paraquat administration, and liver tissue was collected thereafter. The content of malonaldehyde (MDA) and the activities of superoxide dismutase activity (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in the liver tissue were determined by chemical colorimetry. The activities of heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) and quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO-1) in the liver tissue were determined by ELISA. The mRNA and protein levels of NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) were determined by RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. The pathological changes of liver tissue were examined by optical microscopy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No significant change was observed between the control group and the curcumin control group in any examination of this study (P > 0.05). Both paraquat group and curcumin intervention group showed increase in MDA content, decreases in SOD and CAT activities, increases in HO-1 and NQO-1 activities, and increases in the protein and mRNA levels of Nrf2, in comparison with the control group (P < 0.05 for all except HO-1 activity in paraquat group on day 7). In comparison with the parquet group on the same day, the curcumin intervention group showed decrease in MDA content, increases in the activities of SOD, CAT, HO-1, and NQO-1, and increases in the mRNA and protein levels of Nrf2 on days 1, 3, and 7 (P < 0.05). The pathological examination revealed that the damage of liver tissue in the paraquat group was the most serious on the 3rd day after paraquat exposure, and the damage was consistently alleviated by curcumin intervention on days 1, 3, and 7, as compared with the paraquat group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Oxidative stress plays an important role in paraquat-induced acute liver damage in rats, and curcumin can exert a hepatoprotective effect against oxidative stress by increasing the expression of Nrf2 and the activities of HO-1, NQO-1, SOD, and CAT and reducing the content of MDA.
authors.affiliation: Emergency Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou Zhejiang Province 325000, China.
authors.forename: Wenwen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Emergency Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou Zhejiang Province 325000, China.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Emergency Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou Zhejiang Province 325000, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Emergency Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou Zhejiang Province 325000, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Emergency Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou Zhejiang Province 325000, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Emergency Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou Zhejiang Province 325000, China.
authors.forename: Guangliang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Emergency Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou Zhejiang Province 325000, China.
authors.forename: Qiaomeng
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: Emergency Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou Zhejiang Province 325000, China. E-mial: lzq640815@163.corn.
authors.forename: Zhongqiu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002374:Catalase / Q000378:metabolism; D003474:Curcumin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006419:Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing) / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D016660:NAD(P)H Dehydrogenase (Quinone) / Q000378:metabolism; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D010269:Paraquat / Q000506:poisoning*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D008315:Malondialdehyde; D002374:Catalase; D006419:Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing); C491523:Hmox1 protein, rat; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D016660:NAD(P)H Dehydrogenase (Quinone); C507703:NQO1 protein, rat; D003474:Curcumin; D010269:Paraquat