curcumin and vanillin

Substantial pre-clinical and human studies have shown that curcumin, a dietary compound from turmeric, has a variety of health-promoting biological activities. A better understanding of the biochemical mechanisms for the health-promoting effects of curcumin could facilitate the development of effective strategies for disease prevention. Recent studies have shown that in aqueous buffer, curcumin rapidly degrades and leads to formation of various degradation products. In this review, we summarized and discussed the biological activities of chemical degradation products of curcumin, including alkaline hydrolysis products (such as ferulic acid, vanillin, ferulaldehyde, and feruloyl methane), and autoxidation products (such as bicyclopentadione). Though many of these degradation products are biologically active, they are substantially less-active compared to curcumin, supporting that chemical degradation has a limited contribution to the biological activities of curcumin.

Topics: Animals; Benzaldehydes; Coumaric Acids; Curcumin; Humans; Hydrolysis; Oxidation-Reduction

Amyloid-β (Aβ) dimers are the smallest toxic species along the amyloid-aggregation pathway and among the most populated oligomeric accumulations present in the brain affected by Alzheimer's disease (AD). A proposed therapeutic strategy to avoid the aggregation of Aβ into higher-order structures is to develop molecules that inhibit the early stages of aggregation, i.e., dimerization. Under physiological conditions, the Aβ dimer is highly dynamic and does not attain a single well-defined structure but is rather characterized by an ensemble of conformations. In a recent study, a highly heterogeneous library of conformers of the Aβ dimer was generated by an efficient sampling method with constraints based on ion mobility mass spectrometry data. Here, we make use of the Aβ dimer library to study the interaction with two curcumin degradation products, ferulic aldehyde and vanillin, by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Ensemble docking and MD simulations are used to provide atomistic detail of the interactions between the curcumin degradation products and the Aβ dimer. The simulations show that the aromatic residues of Aβ, and in particular

Topics: Alzheimer Disease; Amyloid beta-Peptides; Benzaldehydes; Curcumin; Humans; Molecular Dynamics Simulation; Peptide Fragments

The current study explores the formation of active eco-friendly materials capable of preventing microbial contamination using in situ ultrasonic grafting of vanillin, curcumin and a curcumin-vanillin mixture on the surfaces of carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and chitosan films. Spectroscopic, microscopic, physical and mechanical studies revealed that the films grafted with curcumin-vanillin mixture demonstrate improved mechanical properties and higher degree of order. The bioactivity of the prepared films was tested on food model, fresh-cut melons and films with a deposited curcumin-vanillin mixture showed superior antibacterial properties. For instance, this mixture-grafted on CMC films demonstrated a total inhibition of yeast/mold proliferation during 12 days. The HR-SEM studies of the mixture-grafted films revealed the presence of crystalline structures. Cooperative crystallization effect between the curcumin (the crystal maker) and the volatile vanillin is suggested to be responsible for the observed effects. According to our knowledge, this is the first usage of co-crystallization method in surface deposition. The results point out to a general strategy of combining a crystal maker agent with a volatile active agent during in situ sonochemical deposition to form bioactive materials that can be further used for food packaging, agriculture, pharmacology and more.

Topics: Benzaldehydes; Crystallization; Curcumin; Materials Testing; Particle Size; Polysaccharides; Surface Properties

A novel cyclodextrin (CD)-based controlled release system was developed in the small intestine to control the rate of drug release, on the premise of enteric-coated tablets. The system was designed based on the enzymes exogenous β-cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase (β-CGTase) and endogenous maltase-glucoamylase (MG), wherein MG is secreted in the small intestine and substituted by a congenerous amyloglucosidase (AG). The vanillin-/curcumin-β-CD complexes were prepared and detected by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and host CD degradation was measured based on the glucose yield. The combination of β-CGTase and AG was also functional in the CD complex system. The variations in the concentrations of added β-CGTase, with AG constantly in excess, could effectively alter the rate of host CD degradation and guest release by monitoring glucose production and color disappearance, thus, demonstrating that guest release in the CD complex system could be precisely controlled by changing the amount of β-CGTase used. Thus, the in vitro simulation of the system indicated that a novel controlled release system, based on endogenous MG, could be established in the small intestine. The CD-based controlled release system can be potentially applied in drug delivery and absorption in the small intestine.

Topics: alpha-Glucosidases; Benzaldehydes; beta-Cyclodextrins; Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; Curcumin; Delayed-Action Preparations; Drug Delivery Systems; Drug Liberation; Glucan 1,4-alpha-Glucosidase; Glucosyltransferases; Intestine, Small; Kinetics; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; Substrate Specificity; Thermogravimetry

Curcumin is a phenolic compound produced by some plants, among which Curcuma longa is the reachest in this principal curcuminoid. At elevated temperature curcumin degrades to trans-6-(4'-hydroxy-3'-methoxyphenyl)-2,4-dioxo-5-hexenal, vanillin, ferulic acid and feruloylmethane, however, the formation of feruloyloacetone ((5E)-6-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)hex-5-ene-2,4-dione) in the curcumin degradation process has not been reported yet. As results from experiments, even 28.8% or 20.6% of the degraded curcumin is transformed to feruloyloacetone during 2 h heating of alkaline or acidic curcumin solution, respectively. The structure of the identified feruloyloacetone was confirmed by MS

Topics: Benzaldehydes; Coumaric Acids; Curcumin; Food Handling; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Styrenes

The aim of the present investigation is the development, optimization and characterization of curcumin-loaded hybrid nanoparticles of vanillin-chitosan coated with super paramagnetic calcium ferrite. The functionally modified vanillin-chitosan was prepared by the Schiff base reaction to enhance the hydrophobic drug encapsulation efficiency. Calcium ferrite (CFNP) nano particles were added to the vanillin modified chitosan to improve the biocompatibility. The vanillin-chitosan-CFNP, hybrid nanoparticle carrier was obtained by ionic gelation method. Characterizations of the hybrid materials were performed by XRD, FTIR,

Topics: Antineoplastic Agents; Benzaldehydes; Calcium Compounds; Cell Line; Cell Survival; Chitosan; Curcumin; Drug Carriers; Drug Liberation; Ferric Compounds; Humans; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Kinetics; Magnetic Fields; MCF-7 Cells; Nanoparticles; Particle Size; Polyphosphates; Surface Properties

Although some naturally occurring polyphenols have been found to inhibit amyloid β (Aβ) fibril formation and reduce neuron cell toxicity in vitro, their exact inhibitory mechanism is unknown. In this work, discontinuous molecular dynamics combined with the PRIME20 force field and a newly built inhibitor model are performed to examine the effect of vanillin, resveratrol, curcumin, and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on the aggregation of Aβ(17-36) peptides. Four sets of peptide/inhibitor simulations are performed in which inhibitors (1) bind to Aβ(17-36) monomer (2) interfere with Aβ(17-36) oligomerization (3) disrupt a pre-formed Aβ(17-36) protofilament, and (4) prevent the growth of Aβ(17-36) protofilament. The single-ring compound, vanillin, slightly slows down but cannot inhibit the formation of a U-shaped Aβ(17-36) protofilament. The multiple-ring compounds, EGCG, resveratrol, and curcumin, redirect Aβ(17-36) from a fibrillar aggregate to an unstructured oligomer. The three aromatic groups of the EGCG molecule are in a stereo (nonplanar) configuration, helping it contact the N-terminal, middle, and C-terminal regions of the peptide. Resveratrol and curcumin bind only to the hydrophobic residues near peptide termini. The rank order of inhibitory effectiveness of Aβ(17-36) aggregation is as follows: EGCG > resveratrol > curcumin > vanillin, consistent with experimental findings on inhibiting full-length Aβ fibrillation. Furthermore, we learn that the inhibition effect of EGCG is specific to the peptide sequence, while those of resveratrol and curcumin are non-specific in that they stem from strong interference with hydrophobic side-chain association, regardless of the residues' location and peptide sequence. Our studies provide molecular-level insights into how polyphenols inhibit Aβ fibril formation, knowledge that could be useful for designing amyloid inhibitors.

Topics: Amyloid beta-Peptides; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Antioxidants; Benzaldehydes; Catechin; Curcumin; Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; Molecular Dynamics Simulation; Protein Aggregates; Resveratrol; Stilbenes

Electrospun phospholipid (asolectin) microfibers were investigated as antioxidants and encapsulation matrices for curcumin and vanillin. These phospholipid microfibers exhibited antioxidant properties which increased after the encapsulation of both curcumin and vanillin. The total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and the total phenolic content (TPC) of curcumin/phospholipid and vanillin/phospholipid microfibers remained stable over time at different temperatures (refrigerated, ambient) and pressures (vacuum, ambient). ¹H-NMR confirmed the chemical stability of both encapsulated curcumin and vanillin within phospholipid fibers. Release studies in aqueous media revealed that the phenolic bioactives were released mainly due to swelling of the phospholipid fiber matrix over time. The above studies confirm the efficacy of electrospun phospholipid microfibers as encapsulation and antioxidant systems.

Topics: Antioxidants; Benzaldehydes; Curcumin; Drug Compounding; Drug Liberation; Microfibrils; Phosphatidylcholines; Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared

Curcumin is known for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticancer activity, as well as for its ability to interfere with amyloid aggregation and non-enzymatic glycation reaction, that makes it an attractive potential drug. However, curcumin therapeutic use is limited because of its low systemic bioavailability and chemical stability as it undergoes rapid hydrolysis in physiological conditions. Recently, much attention has been paid to the biological properties of curcumin degradation products as potential bioactive molecules. Between them, vanillin, a natural vanilla extract, is a stable degradation product of curcumin that could be responsible for mediating its beneficial effects. We have analyzed the effect of vanillin, in comparison with curcumin, in the amyloid aggregation process of insulin as well as its ability to prevent the formation of the advanced glycation end products (AGEs). Employing biophysical, biochemical and cell based assays, we show that vanillin and curcumin similarly affect insulin amyloid aggregation promoting the formation of harmless fibrils. Moreover, vanillin restrains AGE formation and protects from AGE-induced cytotoxicity. Our novel findings not only suggest that the main health benefits observed for curcumin can be ascribed to its degradation product vanillin, but also open new avenues for developing therapeutic applications of curcumin degradation products.

Topics: Amyloid; Antioxidants; Benzaldehydes; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Survival; Curcumin; Glycation End Products, Advanced; Glycosylation; Humans; Insulin; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; Protein Aggregates

Repellency of essential oil extracted from Curcuma longa, Eucalyptus globulus, and Citrus aurantium at various concentrations (5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 %) with and without 5 % vanillin was evaluated against female mosquitoes: Aedes aegypti and Anopheles dirus. The comparisons were made with a commercial chemical repellent (N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET) 25 % w/w; KOR YOR 15) by arm in cage method. It was found that the essential oils with 5 % vanillin gave the longest lasting period against two mosquitoes as follows: Curcuma longa gave 150 min for Ae. aegypti, 480 min for An. dirus; Eucalyptus globulus gave 144 min for Ae. aegypti, 390 min for An. dirus; and Citrus aurantium gave 120 min for Ae. aegypti, 360 min for An. dirus. The 25 % Curcuma longa essential oil exhibited the best efficiency as equal as a commercial repellent (480 min against An. dirus). Vanillin can extend the period of time in protection against the two mosquitoes. This study indicates the potential uses of the essential oils (Curcuma longa, Eucalyptus globulus, and Citrus aurantium) with vanillin as natural mosquito repellents.

Topics: Adult; Aedes; Animals; Anopheles; Benzaldehydes; Citrus; Curcuma; DEET; Eucalyptus; Female; Humans; Insect Repellents; Insect Vectors; Male; Middle Aged; Oils, Volatile; Plant Extracts; Time Factors; Young Adult

Metabolic Engineering (ME) aims to design microbial cell factories towards the production of valuable compounds. In this endeavor, one important task relates to the search for the most suitable heterologous pathway(s) to add to the selected host. Different algorithms have been developed in the past towards this goal, following distinct approaches spanning constraint-based modeling, graph-based methods and knowledge-based systems based on chemical rules. While some of these methods search for pathways optimizing specific objective functions, here the focus will be on methods that address the enumeration of pathways that are able to convert a set of source compounds into desired targets and their posterior evaluation according to different criteria. Two pathway enumeration algorithms based on (hyper)graph-based representations are selected as the most promising ones and are analyzed in more detail: the Solution Structure Generation and the Find Path algorithms. Their capabilities and limitations are evaluated when designing novel heterologous pathways, by applying these methods on three case studies of synthetic ME related to the production of non-native compounds in E. coli and S. cerevisiae: 1-butanol, curcumin and vanillin. Some targeted improvements are implemented, extending both methods to address limitations identified that impair their scalability, improving their ability to extract potential pathways over large-scale databases. In all case-studies, the algorithms were able to find already described pathways for the production of the target compounds, but also alternative pathways that can represent novel ME solutions after further evaluation.

Topics: 1-Butanol; Algorithms; Benzaldehydes; Curcumin; Escherichia coli; Metabolic Engineering; Models, Theoretical; Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Curcumin is a secondary plant metabolite present in Curcuma longa L. Since curcumin is widely used as a food colorant in thermally processed food it may undergo substantial chemical changes which in turn could affect its biological activity. In the current study, curcumin was roasted at 180 °C up to 70 minutes and its kinetic of degradation was analyzed by means of HPLC-PDA and LC-MS, respectively. Roasting of curcumin resulted in the formation of the degradation products vanillin, ferulic acid, and 4-vinyl guaiacol. In cultured hepatocytes roasted curcumin as well as 4-vinyl guaiacol enhanced the transactivation of the redox-regulated transcription factor Nrf2, known to be centrally involved in cellular stress response and antioxidant defense mechanisms. The antioxidant enzyme paraoxonase 1 was induced by roasted curcumin and 4-vinyl guaiacol. Furthermore, roasted curcumin and 4-vinyl guaiacol decreased interleukin-6 gene expression in lipopolysaccharide stimulated murine macrophages. Current data suggest that curcumin undergoes degradation due to roasting and its degradation product exhibit significant biological activity in cultured cells.

Topics: Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Antioxidants; Aryldialkylphosphatase; Benzaldehydes; Cell Line, Tumor; Coumaric Acids; Curcuma; Curcumin; Food Coloring Agents; Guaiacol; Hepatocytes; Hot Temperature; Humans; Interleukin-6; Macrophage Activation; Macrophages; Mice; NF-E2-Related Factor 2; RAW 264.7 Cells; Rhizome; Transcriptional Activation

Charismatic therapeutic potential of curcumin in biological research have triggered an interest to explore the thermal degradation pattern of curcumin, formation of ferulic acid and vanillin as degraded metabolites at different temperatures in methanol and corn oil. The results revealed 47% w/w loss of curcumin along with formation of 17% w/w vanillin and 9% w/w ferulic acid at boiling temperature of methanol while oil samples show 38.9% w/w loss of curcumin but not confirming the formation of ferulic acid and vanillin. Findings of this study revealed that formation of vanillin in methanol starts around 50°C and its concentration goes on increasing up to 70°C and then further degraded at boiling temperature of methanol. Formation of ferulic acid begins around 60°C and initially increases with rise of temperature and then decreases approaching boiling point of methanol. Vanillin as well as ferulic acid was absent in corn oil samples though degradation of curcumin was observed by reduction in peak area of curcumin. The present study was done by applying a validated high-performance thin-layer chromatography method. The method involved glass-backed HPTLC plates precoated with silica gel 60F254 as the stationary phase and toluene: ethyl acetate: methanol (8:1:1, v/v/v) as mobile phase.

Topics: Benzaldehydes; Calibration; Chromatography, Thin Layer; Coumaric Acids; Curcumin; Drug Stability; Temperature

The symmetrical structure of curcumin includes two 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl substructures. Laccase catalyzed formation of a phenol radical, radical migration and oxygen insertion at the benzylic positions can result in the formation of vanillin. As vanillin itself is a preferred phenolic substrate of laccases, the formation of vanillin oligomers and polymers is inevitable, once vanillin becomes liberated. To decelerate the oligomerization, one of the phenolic hydroxyl groups was protected via acetylation. Monoacetyl curcumin with an approximate molar yield of 49% was the major acetylation product, when a lipase from Candida antarctica (CAL) was used. In the second step, monoacetyl curcumin was incubated with purified laccases of various basidiomycete fungi in a biphasic system (diethyl ether/aqueous buffer). A laccase from Funalia trogii (LccFtr) resulted in a high conversion (46% molar yield of curcumin monoacetate) to vanillin acetate. The non-protected vanillin moiety reacted to a mixture of higher molecular products. In the third step, the protecting group was removed from vanillin acetate using a feruloyl esterase from Pleurotus eryngii (PeFaeA) (68% molar yield). Alignment of the amino acid sequences indicated that high potential laccases performed better in this mediator and cofactor-free reaction.

Topics: Acetylation; Amino Acid Sequence; Benzaldehydes; Catalysis; Curcumin; Enzymes; Esterases; Laccase; Lipase; Molecular Sequence Data; Sequence Alignment

A key event in the development of plaque in the arteries is the migration and proliferation of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) from the media to the intima of the blood vessel. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of bisdemethoxycurcumin (BC), a naturally occurring structural analog of curcumin (CC), on platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-stimulated migration and proliferation of SMCs.. CC and BC were synthesized by condensing acetyl acetone with vanillin and 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, respectively. SMCs isolated from adult rat aorta were stimulated with PDGF in the presence or absence of CC or BC following which, cell migration and proliferation were assessed by monolayer wound healing assay and [(3) H]-thymidine incorporation respectively. PDGF-stimulated phosphorylation of PDGF receptor-β and its downstream effectors Akt and ERK were assessed by Western blotting. Intracellular reactive oxygen species was assessed using the fluorescent dye 5-(6)-chloromethyl-2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate. BC elicited a concentration-dependent inhibition of PDGF-stimulated phosphorylation of PDGF receptor-β, Akt and Erk as well as the PDGF-stimulated SMC migration and proliferation. BC was more potent than CC in inhibiting migration and proliferation and suppressing PDGF-signaling in SMCs. Both compounds were equipotent in inhibiting PDGF-stimulated generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species.. BC may be of potential use in the prevention or treatment of vascular disease.

Topics: Animals; Benzaldehydes; Cell Movement; Cell Proliferation; Curcumin; Diarylheptanoids; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; Male; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle; Phosphorylation; Platelet-Derived Growth Factor; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Reactive Oxygen Species; Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor beta; Signal Transduction

Curcumin is a dietary diphenol with antioxidant, antinflammatory, and antitumor activity. We describe facile procedures for the synthesis of [(14) C2 ]curcumin (4 mCi/mmol), [d6 ]curcumin, [d3 ]curcumin, [(13) C5 ]curcumin, and [d6 ]bicyclopentadione, the major oxidative metabolite of curcumin. We also describe synthesis of the labeled building blocks [(14) C]vanillin, [d3 ]vanillin, and [(13) C5 ]acetylacetone. The overall molar yields of the labeled products were 52 ([(14) C]) and 47% ([d3 ]) for vanillin and 25 ([(14) C2 ]) and 27% ([d6 ]) for curcumin. The compounds can be used as radiotracers in biotransformation studies and as isotopic standards for mass spectrometry-based quantification in pharmacokinetic analyses.

Topics: Benzaldehydes; Carbon Radioisotopes; Curcumin; Isotope Labeling; Radiopharmaceuticals

Apocynin (APO), curcumin (CUR) and vanillin (VAN) are o-methyl catechols widely studied due their antioxidant and antitumour properties. The effect of treatment with these o-methyl catechols on tamoxifen (TAM)-induced cytotoxicity in normal and tumour cells was studied. The cytotoxicity of TAM on red blood cells (RBC) was performed by haemoglobin or K(+)release and on polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) by trypan blue dye exclusion method. Cytotoxic activity was assessed in human chronic myeloid leukemia (K562) cell line by (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide). According the release of haemoglobin and K(+), the CUR showed a decrease in TAM cytotoxicity on RBC; however, in PMN, APO, CUR and VAN showed increased of these cells viability. VAN presented the highest cytotoxicity on K562 cells, followed by APO and CUR. These results point the potential therapeutic value of these o-methyl catechols with TAM, particularly of CUR, which potentiates the cytotoxic effects of TAM on K562 cells and also decreases TAM-associated cytotoxicity on RBC and PMN.

Topics: Acetophenones; Antineoplastic Agents; Benzaldehydes; Cell Survival; Curcumin; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; Erythrocytes; Humans; K562 Cells; Molecular Structure; Neutrophils; Structure-Activity Relationship; Tamoxifen; Tumor Cells, Cultured

Although capsaicin not only activates transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1) channels but also inhibits nerve conduction, the latter action has not yet been fully examined. The purpose of the present study was to know whether various vanilloids have an inhibitory action similar to that of capsaicin and further to compare their actions with that of local anesthetic procaine.. Fast-conducting compound action potentials (CAPs) were recorded from frog sciatic nerve fibers by using the air-gap method.. Capsaicin reversibly and concentration-dependently reduced the peak amplitude of the CAP. TRPV1 antagonist capsazepine did not affect the capsaicin activity, and powerful TRPV1 agonist resiniferatoxin had no effect on CAPs, indicating no involvement of TRPV1 channels. Capsaicin analogs and other various vanilloids also inhibited CAPs in a concentration-dependent manner. An efficacy sequence of these inhibitions was capsaicin=dihydrocapsaicin>capsiate>eugenol>guaiacol≥zingerone≥vanillin>vanillylamine. Vanillic acid had almost no effect on CAPs; olvanil and curcumin appeared to be effective less than capsaicin. Capsaicin and eugenol were, respectively, ten- and two-fold effective more than procaine in CAP inhibition, while each of guaiacol, zingerone and vanillin was five-fold effective less than procaine.. Various vanilloids exhibit CAP inhibition, the extent of which is determined by the property of the side chain bound to the vanillyl group, and some of them are more effective than procaine. These results may serve to unveil molecular mechanisms for capsaicin-induced conduction block and to develop antinociceptive drugs related to capsaicin.

Topics: Action Potentials; Animals; Antipruritics; Benzaldehydes; Benzylamines; Capsaicin; Curcumin; Diterpenes; Eugenol; Female; Guaiacol; Male; Procaine; Ranidae; Sciatic Nerve; Structure-Activity Relationship; TRPV Cation Channels; Vanillic Acid

Curcumin is known to be an antioxidant, as it can scavenge free radicals from biological media. A sequence of H-abstraction and addition reactions involving up to eight OH radicals and curcumin or its degradation products leading to the formation of two other antioxidants, namely, ferulic acid and vanillin, was studied. Single electron transfer from curcumin to an OH radical was also studied. All relevant extrema on the potential energy surfaces were located by optimizing geometries of the reactant and product complexes, as well as those of the transition states, at the BHandHLYP/6-31G(d,p) level of density functional theory in the gas phase. Single-point energy calculations were also performed in the gas phase at the BHandHLYP/aug-cc-pVDZ and B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ levels of theory. Solvent effects in aqueous media were treated by performing single-point energy calculations at all of the above-mentioned levels of theory employing the polarizable continuum model and the geometries optimized at the BHandHLYP/6-31G(d,p) level in the gas phase. A few reaction steps were also studied by geometry optimization in aqueous media, and the thus-obtained Gibbs free energy barriers were similar to those obtained by corresponding single-point energy calculations. Our calculations show that the hydrogen atom of the OH group attached to the phenol moiety of curcumin would be most efficiently abstracted by an OH radical, in agreement with experimental observations. Further, our study shows that OH addition would be most favored at the C10 site of the heptadiene chain. It was found that curcumin can serve as an effective antioxidant.

Topics: Benzaldehydes; Computer Simulation; Coumaric Acids; Curcumin; Electron Transport; Free Radical Scavengers; Free Radicals; Gases; Hydrogen; Hydroxyl Radical; Models, Chemical; Molecular Structure; Water

To clarify the mechanism of phenol toxicity, the radical-scavenging activity of 2- or 2,6-di-tert-butyl- and 2-methoxy-substituted phenols was investigated by combining two distinct approaches: first, the induction period method for methacrylate polymerization initiated by benzoyl peroxide or 2,2'-azobisisobutyronitrile; and secondly, 1,1'-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging test. The homolytic bond dissociation enthalpy (BDE) and ionization potential (IP(koopman)) were calculated by the DFT/B3LYP method. The cytotoxicity was investigated using tumor cells (human submandibular gland carcinoma cells, HSG; human promyelocytic leukemia cells, HL-60) and primary cells (human gingival fibroblasts, HGF; human periodontal ligament fibroblasts, HPLF; human pulp fibroblasts, HPF) derived from oral tissues. The cytotoxicity between tumor and primary cells was similar, except for eugenol dimer showing less toxicity for primary cells. The DPPH assay was not useful for tert-butylphenols due to their steric hindrance. For both HSG and HGF cells, a linear relationship was found between 50% cytotoxic concentration (CC(50)) and inhibition rate constant (k(inh)), but not BDE, IP, or logP. The acceptable quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) obtained for cytotoxicity vs. k(inh) suggested that the cytotoxicity of phenols may be dependent on radical reactions. The cytotoxicity of vanillin and 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxy-benzaldehyde with large k(inh) values, weak antioxidants was markedly less than that of 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol, 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenol and curcumin with small k(inh) values, potent antioxidants.

Topics: Antioxidants; Benzaldehydes; Butylated Hydroxytoluene; Cell Line, Tumor; Curcumin; Eugenol; HL-60 Cells; Humans; Kinetics; Phenols; Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship

The rhizomes of Curcuma phaeocaulis, Curcuma kwangsiensis, Curcuma wenyujin and Curcuma longa are used as Ezhu or Jianghuang in traditional Chinese medicine for a long time. Due to their similar morphological characters, it is difficult to distinguish their origins of raw materials used in clinic. In this study, a simple, rapid and reliable twice development TLC method was developed for qualitative and quantitative analysis of the four species of Curcuma rhizomes. The chromatography was performed on silica gel 60F(254) plate with chloroform-methanol-formic acid (80:4:0.8, v/v/v) and petroleum ether-ethyl acetate (90:10, v/v) as mobile phase for twice development. The TLC markers were colorized with 1% vanillin-H(2)SO(4) solution. The four species of Curcuma were easily discriminated based on their characteristic TLC profiles, and simultaneous quantification of eight compounds, including bisdemethoxycurcumin, demethoxycurcumin, curcumine, curcumenol, curcumol, curdione, furanodienone and curzerene, in Curcuma were also performed densitometrically at lambda(scan)=518nm and lambda(reference)=800 nm. The investigated compounds had good linearity (r(2)>0.9905) within test ranges. Therefore, the developed TLC method can be used for quality control of Curcuma rhizomes.

Topics: Acetates; Alkanes; Benzaldehydes; Chloroform; Chromatography, Thin Layer; Curcuma; Curcumin; Diarylheptanoids; Formates; Gels; Methanol; Plant Roots; Reference Standards; Reproducibility of Results; Sesquiterpenes; Sesquiterpenes, Germacrane; Silicon Dioxide; Solutions; Species Specificity; Sulfuric Acids; Time Factors

Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is a major yellow pigment and dietary component derived from Curcuma longa. It has potent anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, antioxidant and chemoprotective activities among others. We studied the interactions of curcumin, a mixture of its decomposition products, and four of its individually identified decomposition products (vanillin, vanillic acid, ferulic aldehyde and ferulic acid) on five major human drug-metabolizing cytochrome P450s (CYPs). Curcumin inhibited CYP1A2 (IC(50), 40.0 microM), CYP3A4 (IC(50), 16.3 microM), CYP2D6 (IC(50), 50.3 microM), CYP2C9 (IC(50), 4.3 microM) and CYP2B6 (IC(50), 24.5 microM). Curcumin showed a competitive type of inhibition towards CYP1A2, CYP3A4 and CYP2B6, whereas a non-competitive type of inhibition was observed with respect to CYP2D6 and CYP2C9. The inhibitory activity towards CYP3A4, shown by curcumin may have implications for drug-drug interactions in the intestines, in case of high exposure of the intestines to curcumin upon oral administration. In spite of the significant inhibitory activities shown towards the major CYPs in vitro, it remains to be established, whether curcumin will cause significant drug-drug interactions in the liver, given the reported low systemic exposure of the liver to curcumin. The decomposition products of curcumin showed no significant inhibitory activities towards the CYPs investigated, and therefore, are not likely to cause drug-drug interactions at the level of CYPs.

Topics: Aryl Hydrocarbon Hydroxylases; Benzaldehydes; Coumaric Acids; Curcumin; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A2; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A2 Inhibitors; Cytochrome P-450 CYP2B6; Cytochrome P-450 CYP2C9; Cytochrome P-450 CYP2D6 Inhibitors; Cytochrome P-450 CYP3A; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme Inhibitors; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System; Drug Interactions; Drug Stability; Enzyme Inhibitors; Humans; In Vitro Techniques; Kinetics; Oxidoreductases, N-Demethylating; Vanillic Acid