Protective Activ
Protective
Activity of Curcumin against Obesity Associated Cardiovascular Disease via
Alleviating Leptin and Insulin Resistance
Azza M. El-Wakf*1;
El-Sayed M. El-Habibi1 and Abdullah Mogalli2
Faculty of Science, Mansoura
University, Mansoura, Egypt1
Faculty of Education, Adan
University, Adan, Yemen 2
Abstract: Obesity
is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study was
designed to evaluate the protective activity of curcumin against incidence of
this disease in male rats with diet-induced obesity. For this purpose, male
albino rats (175 ± 5g) were fed normal diet or high fat diet (HFD) with or
without curcumin (20 mg/kg b.wt.) for duration of 3 months. Feeding rats on HFD
caused elevation of the body weight gain and weights of aorta and heart tissue.
Meanwhile, HFD-fed rats exhibited marked hyperglycemia, with raised lipid
profile as reflected by significant elevation of serum, aorta and heart total
lipids (TLs), total cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides (TGs),accompanied by
increased serum values of LDL-C, vLDL-C and atherogenic index (AI), with
decreased HDL-C level. An increased serum level of leptin and insulin were also
observed. The study also showed marked reduction in the antioxidants,
superoxide dismutase (SOD) and reduced glutathione (GSH), concomitant with
elevation in the level of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and
lipid peroxidation product, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in both heart and
aorta of HFD-fed rats. Further changes, including elevation of serum
aminotranseferases (AST and ALT), lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatinine
kinase (CK), with a reduction in their activities in heart and aorta were
demonstrated. Also, a reduction in the level of nitric oxide (NO) in the same
organs were recorded which together with the above mentioned alterations may
indicate developing of cardiovascular disease in association with obesity. On
the contrary, administration of curcumin to HFD-fed rats tended to prevent
hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia and other changes relevant to cardiovascular
disease mainly through alleviating leptin and insulin resistance. Thus,
curcumin can be prescribed as a natural dietary product for reducing risk of
CVD in the obese subjects.
[Azza M. El-Wakf; El-Sayed M. El-Habibi and Abdullah
Mogalli. Protective Activity of Curcumin against Obesity
Associated Cardiovascular Disease via Alleviating. J Am Sci 2013;9(3):397-405].
(ISSN: 1545-1003). http://www.jofamericanscience.org. 64
Key words: Obesity, Curcumin, Leptin, Insulin, Nitric
oxide Full Text 64
