RESUMO
PURPOSE: Anti-inflammatory proprieties of curcumin were proved to be useful in various diseases, including diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to assess the anti-inflammatory comparative effect of curcumin solution with liposomal curcumin formula, regarding the improvement of serum levels of TNF-α (tumor necrosis factor-alpha), IL-6 (interleukin), IL-1α, IL-1ß, MCP-1 (monocyte chemoattractant protein-1) and RANTES in experimental diabetes, induced by streptozotocin (STZ), in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Six groups of 7 rats were investigated regarding the effect of i.p. (intraperitoneal) administration of two concentrations of curcumin solution (CC1 and CC2) and two concentrations of liposomal curcumin (LCC1 and LCC2): group 1 - control group with i.p. administration of 1 mL saline solution, group 2 - i.p. STZ administration (60mg/kg bw, bw=body weight), group 3 - STZ+CC1 administration, group 4 - STZ+CC2 administration, group 5 - STZ+ LCC1 administration and group 6 - STZ+ LCC2 administration. The concentrations of curcumin formulas were 1 mg/0.1 kg bw for CC1 and LCC1 and 2 mg/0.1 kg bw for CC2 and LCC2, respectively. Serum levels of C-peptide (as an indicator of pancreatic function) and TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1α, IL-1ß, MCP-1, and RANTES (as biomarkers for systemic inflammation) were assessed for each group. RESULTS: The plasma level of C-peptide showed significant improvements when LCC was administrated, with better results for LCC2 when compared to LCC1 (P<0.003). LCC2 pretreatment proved to be more efficient in reducing the level of TNF-α (P<0.003) and RANTES (P<0.003) than CC2 pretreatment. Upon comparing LCC2 with LCC1 formulas, the differences were significant for TNF-α (P=0.004), IL-1ß (P=0.022), and RANTES (P=0.003) levels. CONCLUSION: Liposomal curcumin in a dose of 2 mg/0.1 kg bw proved to have an optimum therapeutic effect as a pretreatment in DM induced by STZ. This result can constitute a base for clinical studies for curcumin efficiency as adjuvant therapy in type 1 DM.