Background: Among various reactive oxygen species, hydroxyl radicals have the strongest chemical activity, which can damage a wide range of essential biomolecules such as lipids, proteins, and DNA.
Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the beneficial effects of curcumin on prevention of oxidative damage of biomolecules by hydroxyl radicals generated in in vitro by a Fenton like reaction.
Materials and methods: We have incubated the serum, plasma and whole blood with H2O2/Cu2+/ Ascorbic acid system for 4 hours at 37 0C and observed the oxidation of biomolecules like albumin, lipids, proteins and DNA.
Results: Curcumin at the concentrations of 50,100 and 200 μmoles, prevented the formation of ischemia modified albumin, MDA, protein carbonyls, oxidized DNA and increased the total antioxidant levels and GSH significantly.
Conclusion: These observations suggest the hydroxyl radical scavenging potentials of curcumin and protective actions to prevent the oxidation of biomolecules by hydroxyl radicals.
Keywords: Biomolecules; Curcumin; Fenton reaction; Hydroxyl radical; Oxidation.