Effect of Curcumin on Serum and Liver Cholesterol Levels in the Rat

Abstract

In rats fed cholesterol and curcumin, the coloring principle in turmeric, levels of serum and liver cholesterol fell to one-half or one-third of those in rats fed cholesterol and no curcumin. Deposition of cholesterol was found most in liver sections from rats fed cholesterol and least in specimens from animals concurrently fed curcumin. Curcumin increased fecal excretion of bile acids and cholesterol, both in normal and hypercholesteremic rats. This biliary drainage is a plausible explanation for the reduction of tissue cholesterol on curcumin feeding. Alpha- and β-lipoproteins in blood plasma showed meaningful response to addition of curcumin. The imbalance in these two lipoproteins brought about by cholesterol feeding was nearly corrected by simultaneous feeding of curcumin. The above beneficial effects of curcumin were about the same with 0.1% or 0.5% of curcumin in the diet, suggesting that the effective level of curcumin may be even lower than 0.1%. Curcumin maintained body and liver weights, correcting the ill effects in this respect caused by ingested cholesterol. The effect of curcumin in keeping down cholesterol in conditions which otherwise induced hypercholesteremia was not through alterations in cecal microflora which are known to dismute and utilize bile acids in the gut.