Lipid-lowering and anti-oxidative effects of curcumin on Caenorhabditis elegans

To study the lipid-lowering and anti-oxidative effects of curcumin on Caenorhabditis elegans, C.elegans in L1 period were exposed to the different concentrations of curcumin ( 12.5, 25, 50 and 100 μmol/L) for 48 h. Oil red O stained nematode intestinal fat, the activities of T-SOD, the contents of MDA and triglyceride in C.elegans were measured. Results showed that compared with DMSO control group, curcumin could reduce intestinal fat in C.elegans at 25 μmol/L or more ( p < 0.05) , curcumin could reduce intestinal fat significantly at 50 μmol/L or more ( p < 0.01) , with the increasing of curcumin concentration, the content of intestinal fat decreased gradually.Curcumin could reduce the contents of triglyceride and MDA in C.elegans significantly at 25 μmol/L or more ( p < 0.01) . Curcumin could increase the activities of T-SOD in C.elegans significantly at 50 μmol/L or more ( p < 0.01) . In summary, curcumin had lipid-lowering and antioxidant protection effects at25 μmol/L or more.