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Abstract

Mercury is a hazardous, environmental and industrial pollutant, and causes several health issues related to various organs such as brain, kidney, gut, liver. In 2013, Environmental Protection Agency, USA, reported a higher concentration of mercury (5.8 µg/L) in approximately 1.4 million women (2.3% of total USA population) of reproductive age. Based on this prevalence, it was estimated that more than 75,000 newborns would have increased risk of learning disabilities associated with in-utero exposure to methylmercury annually. Curcumin, an active compound of turmeric, is well known for its antioxidant property and used in various diseases including inflammation and cancer. Here, we have shown that curcumin administration decreases mercury accumulation in liver and kidneys, and which leads to suppression of mercury toxicity. For the purpose, experimental rats were administered mercury chloride with and without curcumin treatment in time dependent manner. At the end of the study, we observed that the accumulation of mercury was higher into liver than kidneys measured using ICP-AES. Curcumin treatment significantly reduces mercury accumulation up to 58-59% in these organs in time dependent manner. The statistical analysis shows a positive correlation between liver and kidney, justified by one-way analysis of variance. In addition to attenuation of the mercury accumulation, curcumin administration also improves the liver / kidney functions as assessing through alteration in the levels of their serum biomarkers. Our findings indicate that curcumin has potential to inhibit mercury accumulation in various tissue and may provide new strategies for the prevention of mercury toxicity.