The role of Curcuma longa against doxorubicin (adriamycin)-induced toxicity in rats.

The major component, called curcumin, of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) (Family Zingiberaceae) powder is responsible for its biological actions. The present study aimed to prove the protective effect of turmeric extract against doxorubicin (DOX)-induced cardiac, hepatic, and renal toxicity as evaluated in rats. Body weight and urine volume of the animal groups under investigation were recorded daily throughout the experimental period. Also, the cardiac, hepatic, and renal toxicities were determined by estimating the changes in serum activities of the enzymes lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase (CK), serum levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, nitric oxide, albumin, and calcium, and kidney and liver tissue activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, as well as the contents of glutathione and malondialdehyde. Hyperlipidemia was also determined, and protein and albumin changes in urine were estimated. Biochemical and histopathological findings demonstrate that turmeric extract has multiple therapeutic activities that are beneficially protective, and it has an ameliorative effect against DOX-induced cardiac toxicity and hepatotoxicity and blocks DOX-induced nephrosis. Similarly, turmeric extract inhibited the DOX-induced increase in plasma cholesterol, LDH, and CK. The present findings conclude that the turmeric extract has multiple therapeutic activities that block the cardiac, hepatic, and renal toxicities induced by DOX, and it also possibly acts as a free radical scavenger.