Page 83 - ITPS-8-2

INNOSC Theranostics

and Pharmacological Sciences

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Antioxidant effects of curcumin in unilateral

spinal cord injury model in adult male rats

Babak Ebrahimi 1 , Atousa Yarahmadi 1 , Neda Ghaffari 1 ,
and Gholamreza Hassanzadeh *
1,2
1 Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Neurosciences and Addiction Studies, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine,
Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Inflammatory responses and oxidative stress (OS) play a significant role in the
development of spinal cord injury (SCI), as evidenced by both pre-clinical and
clinical studies. This research aimed to assess the potential antioxidant and anti-
inflammatory properties of curcumin (CuC) as a therapeutic approach in a unilateral
SCI model using male rats. We used 40 adult male Wistar rats (each weighing 220 –
250 g) that were randomly assigned to one of the five experimental groups: (1)
Control (Con), (2) Model (SCI animals), (3) Model+CuC20, (4) Model+CuC40, and
(5) Model+CuC80. Accordingly, the SCI animals in Model+CuC20, Model+CuC40,
and Model+CuC80 groups received 20, 40, and 80 mg/kg/day of CuC through the
*Corresponding author:
Gholamreza Hassanzadeh intraperitoneal route, respectively. We assessed functional recovery, measured
(hassanzadeh@tums.ac.ir) OS indicators, including malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), superoxide
Citation: Ebrahimi B, Yarahmadi A, dismutase (SOD), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in the blood, and evaluated
Ghaffari N, Hassanzadeh G. protein levels of caspase 1, NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3
Antioxidant effects of curcumin (NLRP3), and apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC) in
in unilateral spinal cord injury
model in adult male rats. INNOSC the spinal cord tissue. The CuC treatment groups showed a significant enhancement
Theranostics and Pharmacological in functional recovery, a marked decrease in MDA levels, and a notable elevation in
Sciences. 2025;8(2):77-86. SOD activity relative to the SCI animals. Model+CuC40 and Model+CuC80 animals
doi: 10.36922/itps.4795
exhibited a significant improvement in GSH activity and TAC level as compared
Received: September 9, 2024 to the SCI animals. The results also showed a dramatic decrease in the protein
Revised: October 25, 2024 concentration of NLRP3, ASC, and Casp1 in the Model+CuC40 and Model+CuC80
groups relative to the Model group (P < 0.0001). In conclusion, the treatment with
Accepted: November 13, 2024
CuC significantly enhanced functional recovery in SCI rats by effectively mitigating
Published online: March 4, 2025 OS and reducing inflammatory markers.
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the Keywords: Curcumin; Spinal cord injury; Neuroinflammation; Oxidative stress
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is
properly cited. 1. Introduction
Publisher’s Note: AccScience The pathogenesis of spinal cord injury (SCI) entails two distinct phases: primary injury,
Publishing remains neutral with which refers to the immediate impact resulting from the initial trauma, and secondary
regard to jurisdictional claims in 1
published maps and institutional injury, characterized by a cascade of pathological processes that ensue post-trauma.
affiliations. The ensuing complications of SCI include oxidative stress (OS), inflammation, and

Volume 8 Issue 2 (2025) 77 doi: 10.36922/itps.4795