Antioxidant and Iron-Binding Properties of Curcumin, Capsaicin, and S-Allylcysteine Reduce Oxidative Stress in Rat Brain Homogenate

Abstract

Research demonstrates that antioxidants and metal chelators may be of beneficial use in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study investigated the antioxidant and metal-binding properties of curcumin, capsaicin, and S-allylcysteine, which are major components found in commonly used dietary spice ingredients turmeric, chilli, and garlic, respectively. The DPPH assay demonstrates that these compounds readily scavenge free radicals. These compounds significantly curtail iron- (Fe2+) and quinolinic acid (QA)-induced lipid peroxidation and potently scavenge the superoxide anion generated by 1 mM cyanide in rat brain homogenate. The ferrozine assay was used to measure the extent of Fe2+ chelation, and electrochemistry was employed to measure the Fe3+ binding activity of curcumin, capsaicin, and S-allylcysteine. Both assays demonstrate that these compounds bind Fe2+ and Fe3+ and prevent the redox cycling of iron, suggesting that this may be an additional method through which these agents reduce Fe2+-induced lipid peroxidation. This study demonstrates the antioxidant and metal-binding properties of these spice ingredients, and it is hereby postulate that these compounds have important implications in the prevention or treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as AD.

A Comprehensive Review of the Carcinogenic and Anticarcinogenic Potential of Capsaicin

“…Moreover, as a pleitrophic molecule with potentially multiple mechanisms of action at high concentrations, it is quite likely that capsaicin works through multiple pathways, and several of these do not involve activation of the TRPV1 receptor. Other than inhibition of metabolic activation of carcinogens and induction of apoptosis in a wide variety of cancer cells, mechanisms suggested to account for capsaicin's anticancer activities include antioxidant activity (Dairam et al 2008), activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (C. S. , inhibition of angiogenesis (Min et al 2004), modulation of lipid metabolism due to cancer ) and inhibition of aromatase activity (Luqman et al 2011). …”

Curcumin Modulates α-Synuclein Aggregation and Toxicity

“…TFE and Fe 3+ are known to modulate the protein aggregation 65−67 and complex formation with curcumin, 68 respectively. Moreover, previous studies have used ThT for monitoring the aggregation kinetics, which is not a suitable dye for monitoring amyloid aggregation in the presence of polyphenols such as curcumin.…”

Protective effects of lycopene on oxidative stress, proliferation and autophagy in iron supplementation rats

“…Some studies also argued that, in situation of iron overload when ferritin may be iron-saturated, lysosomal destabilization is thought to be an adaptive response to provide the supply of energy needed for cell survival and repair induced by environmental stress Kurz et al, 2007). In these last decades, there was growing interest in the association of specifi c components of human nutrition and oxidative stress (Morihara et al, 2006;Dairam et al, 2008). Lycopene, a carotenoid compound, occurring naturally in tomato and other fruits like papaya, pink guava and watermelon has been shown to neutralize free radicals, especially those derived from oxygen, thereby conferring protection against cancer of the prostate, breast, lung, bladder, cervix and skin, atherosclerosis and associated coronary artery disease (Sharma and Goswami, 2011).…”