Neuroprotective Effect of Curcumin against Cholesterol Induced Neuroinflammation in In-Vitro and In-Vivo Models

The present study was aimed to investigate the neuroprotective effect of curcumin against cholesterol mediated neurotoxicity in in-vitro and in-vivo models. In in-vitro model, PC12 cell lines were treated with cholesterol (10 & 50 μg/ml) alone or along with curcumin (5 & 10 μg/ml) and simvastatin as a standard control (1 μg/ml). After 48hrs of incubation, cells were studied for morphology, viability and cytokines as a marker. In in-vivo model, four groups of rabbits were used where one among them was fed with normal diet served as control; remaining three groups were fed with high fat diet. Curcumin (80mg/kg) and simvastatin (20mg/kg) were administered to rabbits orally from the fourth week to twentieth week. Results reveal that PC12 cell lines treated with curcumin (10g/ml) and simvastatin (1g/ml) had significantly reversed the cholesterol induced increased proinflammatory markers such as interleukin (IL-1β) and TNF-α. Further the oral administration of curcumin had shown significant reduction in brain cholesterol level and protects the brain from oxidative stress by reducing oxidative stress and brain antioxidant system. The experimental data results of our study show that curcumin protects PC 12 cell line from cholesterol induced neurotoxicity. Furthermore, curcumin had an influence on attenuating cholesterol induced proinflammatory mediator release and neuronal cell death in high fat diet induced neurotoxicity in in-vitro and invivo models.