uterine relaxant effect of curcumin in rats ; An in vitro study

ABSTRACT

Addition of curcumin in concentrations of 1.4 x 10-5 M, 2.8 x 10-5 M and 5.6 x 10-5 M to the organ bath, resulted in significant inhibitions in the normal uterine contractions of non-pregnant rats in the diestrus stage. The recorded decline in the frequency of uterine contractions were 32%, 47% and 67%, while the inhibitions were 50%, 67% and 76% for the amplitude respectively. The reductions in area under the curve [AUC] of contractions were 67%, 71% and 86% for the added concentrations. Pretreatment with curcumin revealed inhibitory effects on the uterine response to oxytocin [10-11M] amounting to 77%, 78% and 72% in AUC with respect to that obtained post-addition of oxytocin alone. These results indicate that the tocolytic potential of curcumin may involve oxytocin receptor-dependent pathway