ABSTRACT
Objective: Curcumin protects the liver against injury and fibrosis through suppressing hepatic inflammation, attenuating hepatic oxidative stress [OS], and inhibiting hepatic stellate cells [HSCs] activation. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease [NAFLD] and polycystic ovary syndrome [PCOS] are considered as common metabolic disorders. Low-grade chronic inflammation with different markers, such as elevated C-reactive protein [CRP] and interleukin-6 [IL-6] levels, play a crucial role in PCOS. This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effects of curcumin on IL-6 and CRP levels as well as insulin resistance [IR] index on liver function in PCOS rats
Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 90 adult Wistar rats were divided into control [n=18], sham [n=18], PCOS [n=18] and curcumin-treated PCOS groups [n=36]. PCOS group was injected subcutaneously with 2 mg estradio-valerate [E2V]. After 60 days, PCOS group was treated with curcumin [100 and 300 mg/kg body weight [BW]] for 14 days and anesthetized by chloroform. Blood and liver samples were collected for histological and serological analyses. Data were analyzed using In-Stat 3 via one-way analysis of variance [ANOVA]
Results: Histological and serological analyses showed a reduction in number of necrotic cells, IR index, as well as IL-6 and CRP levels in PCOS rats that were treated with various concentrations of curcumin
Conclusion: In this study, curcumin decreased liver inflammation by induction of insulin sensitivity and reduction of hepatic necrosis. Therefore, curcumin may be considered as protective factor against inflammatory state of PCOS