Curcumin as a modulator of oxidative stress during storage: a study on plasma.

Background: Plasma reflects the situations of oxidative stress in blood. Curcumin as an additive in storage solutions is not explored.

Materials And Methods: Blood was drawn from male Wistar rats (4 months old) and stored over a period of 20 days at 4 °C in CPDA-1. Plasma was isolated from stored blood at regular intervals. Oxidative stress markers were analyzed in controls and experimental samples (with curcumin 10mM, 30 mM and 60mM).

Results: Antioxidant enzymes and sulfhydryls ameliorated, while TBARS and protein carbonyls reduced in curcumin samples. However, curcumin could not protect the susceptible groups in proteins thereby leading to dityrosine linkages (AOPP).

Conclusion: Curcumin was beneficial at higher concentrations as it reduced oxidative stress, therefore paving way for the further studies on curcumin as a component in storage solutions.