Curcumin increases BDNF levels and decreases nitrotyrosine content in hippocampus and frontal cortex and improvements spatial memory deficits in diabetic db/db mice

We investigated the effects of curcumin (CUR) on BDNF levels and nitrotyrosine (3-NT) content in the hippocampus (HP) and frontal cortex (FC), and on the cognitive performance of db/db diabetic mice (DM). DM did have decreased-BDNF levels and increased-3-NT content in HP and FC (0.72 ± 0.09 and 0.61 ± 0.07 ng of BDNF/mg protein; 3042.27 and 11418.03 of 3-NT) as compared with wild-type (WT) mice (1.5 ± 0.09 and 0.94 ± 0.14 ng of BDNF/mg protein, p < 0.001); whereas curcumin improved or restored BDNF levels to normal levels (1.17 ± 0.03 and 1.21 ± 0.2 ng of BDNF/mg protein, respectively) and decreased 3-NT content in these brain regions of DM (438.28 and 1629 of 3-NT, respectively). In addition, CUR increased BDNF levels in HP and FC of WT mice (1.6 ± 0.14 and 1.84 ± 0.36 ng of BDNF/mg protein, respectively) as compared with untreated WT mice (p = 0.3 and p = 0.013, respectively). With respect to spatial memory deficits, curcumin-treated mice performed better the exploratory skills. These results suggest that curcumin has beneficial effect on the BDNF levels and nitrosactive damage in HP and FC, improving exploration and memory skills.