International Journal of Nanomedicine (May 2018)
The effect of intravenous administration of liposomal curcumin in addition to sumatriptan treatment in an experimental migraine model in rats
Abstract
Adriana E Bulboacă,1 Sorana D Bolboacă,2 Ioana C Stănescu,3 Carmen A Sfrângeu,1 Alina Porfire,4 Lucia Tefas,4 Angelo C Bulboacă3 1Department of Pathophysiology, Iuliu Haţieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; 2Department of Medical Informatics and Biostatistics, Iuliu Haţieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; 3Department of Neurology and Pediatric Neurology, Iuliu Haţieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; 4Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics, Iuliu-Haţieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania Background: Curcumin has antioxidative properties that could be useful in various diseases due to its ability to act on multiple targets of various cellular pathways. We aimed to assess the efficacy of liposomal curcumin compared with curcumin solution, when in addition to sumatriptan (ST) treatment, in an experimental migraine model induced with nitroglycerin (NTG) in rats. Methods: Seven groups of 9 rats each were investigated: control group without migraine (1 mL saline solution intraperitoneal injection [ip]), control group with induced migraine, NTG+ST group (ST), NTG+ST+curcumin1 (CC1) group – 1 mg/100 g body weight (bw), NTG+ST+CC2 – 2 mg/100 g bw, NTG+ST+liposomal curcumin1 (lCC1) group – 1 mg/100 g bw, and NTG+ST+lCC2 (lCC2) group – 2 mg/100 g bw. NTG and ST were administered as 1 mL ip NTG | 1 mg/100 g bw and 1 mL ip ST | 1 mg/100 g bw, respectively. Plasma total oxidative stress (TOS), malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NOx), thiol levels, as well as total antioxidative capacity (TAC) were assessed. The nociception process was assessed by counting the number of flinches and shakes after the formalin test. Results: The plasma TOS, MDA, and NOx levels, as oxidative stress parameters, were significantly decreased in the curcumin-treated groups, especially where curcumin was in liposomal form. The thiol and TAC were also improved by the curcumin treatment, with the best results obtained for the liposomal curcumin. The closest number of flinches and shakes to the control group was obtained for the group treated with liposomal curcumin at a dose of 2 mg/100 g bw. Conclusion: Liposomal curcumin in a dose of 2 mg/100 g bw when in addition to ST treatment could be an optimum therapeutic strategy for migraine attacks and could represent a base for future clinical research and application. Keywords: rats, migraine disorder, liposomal curcumin, serotonin, oxidative stress, nociception
