Abstract 10870: Dietary Supplement Curcumin Reduces Inflammation and Significantly Improves Glucose Tolerance and Atherosclerosis in LDLR-/- Mice

Chronic low grade inflammation, which is exacerbated by consumption of high-fat high cholesterol (HFHC) diets, is central to the development of glucose intolerance as well as atherosclerosis. We have earlier demonstrated that Curcumin, an extensively used spice in Asian foods, attenuates inflammation and thereby reduces development of chronic kidney disease. The underlying mechanism was decreased activation of pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-kB. In the present study we examined the hypothesis that by reducing inflammation, dietary supplementation with Curcumin will also attenuate two other inflammation-linked pathologies namely glucose intolerance and atherosclerosis. LDLR-/- mice at 8-weeks of age were fed HFHC diet and gavaged daily with either PBS (Control) or Curcumin (100mg/kg, Treated) for 16 weeks. Changes in intestinal barrier function leading to release of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to plasma contribute to HFHC-diet induced chronic inflammation likely to be mediated by increase in circulat...