Curcumin improves the survival rate after a massive hepatectomy in rats.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Curcumin possesses anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Curcumin pretreatment provided a hepatoprotective effect in rat models of chemically-induced hepatotoxicities and ischemia/reperfusion injuries. In this study, we examined whether curcumin could improve the survival rate of rats undergoing a 90% hepatectomy. METHODOLOGY: Rats were administered 340 mg/kg oral curcumin formulated with phosphatidylcholine (curcumin group) or vehicle (control group) for 7 consecutive days and 2 hours prior to the massive hepatectomy. RESULTS: Six of the 13 rats pretreated with curcumin survived, whereas all 13 rats pretreated with vehicle died within day 2 following a massive hepatectomy. A histological examination showed the lobular structure to be disturbed in the rats pretreated with vehicle, whereas the hepatic lobular structure remained relatively stable without necrosis in the rats pretreated with curcumin. The contents of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) protein in the control group were low in the preoperative phase. In contrast, the levels of HO-1 protein in the curcumin group were high at the preoperative phase, and thereafter remained at high levels until day 7 following surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that curcumin improves the survival rate by increasing the antioxidant activity in rats after a massive hepatectomy.