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Curcumin can improve ecstasy-induced hippocampal damage in rat

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Abstract

Objective

Ecstasy can damage the hippocampus, which impairs memory and learning. Using anti-inflammatory compounds such as curcumin may improve the side effects of ecstasy. In this study, we investigated the effect of curcumin on spatial learning and expression of NF-kB and GFAP genes in the hippocampus of rats.

Methods

Male Wistar rats were divided into five groups: (1) control, (2) sham receiving saline, (3) sham receiving DMSO, (4) received ecstasy (15 mg/kg dose twice daily for four days), and (5) ecstasy receiving curcumin (200 mg/kg daily for one week). Spatial memory was estimated by Morris water maze, and GFAP and NF-kB levels in the hippocampus were assessed by qRT-PCR.

Results

Morris water maze results showed that the time spent finding the platform in the ecstasy group increased compared to the control (p < 0.001), while this time decreased in the ecstasy-curcumin group compared to the ecstasy group (p < 0.01). QRT-PCR results showed that the expression of GFAP and NF-kB is increased in the ecstasy group compared to the controls (p < 0.01). Curcumin increased the expression level of the NF-kB gene (p < 0.001), while the expression level of GFAP decreased and approached the level of the control group.

Conclusions

This study showed that ecstasy exposure leads to memory impairment. Co-administration of curcumin provided partial protection against memory impairment caused by ecstasy. It seems that the increase in NF-kB in the hippocampus following the administration of curcumin is a sign of cell regeneration and preserves cell life.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the Golestan University of Medical Sciences for the financial support of this research (Grant No.: 950124015).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, School of Sciences, Golestan University, Gorgan, Iran

    Zahra Nazari

  2. Department of Stem Cells and Developmental Biology, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran

    Khadijeh Bahrehbar

  3. Department of Biology, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Yasuj University, Yasuj, Iran

    Khadijeh Bahrehbar

  4. Department of Physiology, Neuroscience Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran

    Hamid Sepehri

  5. Gorgan Congenital Malformations Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran

    Mohammad Jafar Golalipour

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  1. Zahra Nazari
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  4. Mohammad Jafar Golalipour
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohammad Jafar Golalipour.

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Conflict of interest

Zahra Nazari, Khadijeh Bahrehbar, Hamid Sepehri and Mohammad Jafar Golalipou declare that we have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

In this study, the ethical committee of the Golestan University of Medical Sciences (Golestan, Iran) approved all animal experiments (Ethical code: IR.GOUMS.REC.1395.32).

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Nazari, Z., Bahrehbar, K., Sepehri, H. et al. Curcumin can improve ecstasy-induced hippocampal damage in rat. Toxicol. Environ. Health Sci. 15, 173–179 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13530-023-00170-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13530-023-00170-z

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