Protective effects of curcumin against ischemia-reperfusion injury in the liver

Publication date: Available online 15 December 2018Source: Pharmacological ResearchAuthor(s): Kowsar Bavarsad, Maryam Matbou Riahi, Saeideh Saadat, George Barreto, Stephen L. Atkin, Amirhossein SahebkarAbstractLiver ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is a major complication of hepatic surgery and transplantation. It is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality because of post-surgery hepatic dysfunction. Several studies have suggested different mechanisms are involved in the pathogenesis of I/R injury in the liver that includes oxidative stress, inflammation, mitochondria dysfunction, liver Kupffer cells (KCs) activation, vascular cell adhesion molecule overexpression, and facilitation of polymorphonuclear neutrophil injury. Curcumin is a natural product extracted from Curcuma longa that is known to suppress these pathways and as a result reduces liver ischemia-reperfusion injury. This paper gives an overview of the protective effects of curcumin against I/R injury in the liver and discusses the studies that have linked biological functions of curcumin with liver I/R injury improvement.Graphical abstract
Source: Pharmacological Research - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research