Turmeric Protects the Heart Cells Against Cardio-Oxidative Stress

By Kyle J. Norton

Oxidative stress occurs when the levels of free radical compared to the antioxidant enzymes in the body is imbalanced.

Oxidative stress is either associated with the overexpression of free radicals or reduced levels of antioxidants or both.

Free radicals can be everywhere in the environment such as the air we breathe, the foods we eat. They can also be produced by cell metabolism in the body.

Overexpression of free radicals is harmful to the body. However, in a moderate amount, free radicals are necessary for our body to function, including NO for muscle relaxation.

Epidemiologically, oxidative stress has been found to induce lipid and protein oxidation and cell DNA damage, a leading cause of various chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis, cancer, diabetics, rheumatoid arthritis, post-ischemic perfusion injury, myocardial infarction, cardiovascular diseases, chronic inflammation, stroke.

The heart formed part of the circulatory system is a muscular organ that pumps blood through the blood vessels by providing the body with oxygen and nutrients and removal of metabolic wastes.

In the heart, cardio-oxidative stress causes heart muscle damage, leading to dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure.

Dr. Dhalla NS, the lead scientist, in the examination of the risk of oxidative stress in cardiovascular disease, wrote, "Oxidative stress in cardiac and vascular myocytes describes the injury caused to cells resulting from the increased formation of ROS and/or decreased antioxidant reserve. The increase in the generation of ROS seems to be due to the impaired mitochondrial reduction of molecular oxygen, secretion of ROS by white blood cells, endothelial dysfunction, auto-oxidation of catecholamines, as well as exposure to radiation or air pollution"

And "On the other hand, depression in the antioxidant reserve, which serves as a defense mechanism in cardiac and vascular myocytes, appears to be due to the exhaustion and/or changes in gene expression".

Turmeric is a perennial plant in the genus Curcuma, belongings to the family Zingiberaceae, native to tropical South Asia.

The herb has been used in traditional medicine as an anti-oxidant, hypoglycemic, colorant, antiseptic, wound healing agent, and for the treatment of flatulence, bloating, and appetite loss, ulcers, eczema, inflammations, etc.

On findings a potential compound for the treatment of heart disease, researchers examined The mechanism of curcumin on cardiotoxicity-induced production of excess intracellular ROS.

In vivo myocardial injury model in mice and primary cardiomyocytes in vitro, the bioactive compound showed significant activity against the Dox-induced injury to the myocardium by elevating the protein expression of 14-3-3γ in total protein and Bcl-2 expression on mitochondria associated with oxidative stress.

Furthermore, the anti cardio oxidative stress induced by Dox was also inhibited by the injection curcumin by activating Bad (S112) phosphorylation against cell death and, reducing the heart rate, ST-segment, low-density lipoprotein (LDH) and creatine kinase (CK) activities found in the serum.

In other words, curcumin decreased cardiotoxicity by protecting the heart muscle cells' integrity through many mechanisms, including proteins associated with oxidative stress in the induction of apoptosis.

Based on the findings, researchers said, "Cur protected the myocardium against Dox-induced injury via upregulating 14-3-3γ expression, thereby promoting the translocation of Bcl-2 to mitochondria, suppressing oxidative stress, and improving mitochondrial function".

Taken altogether, turmeric processed abundantly bioactive compound curcumin may be considered supplements for the prevention and treatment of heart diseases associated with cardio-oxidative stress, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of turmeric in the form of supplements should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Curcumin attenuates doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity via suppressing oxidative stress and preventing mitochondrial dysfunction mediated by 14-3-3γ by He H 1, Luo Y, Qiao Y, Zhang Z, Yin D, Yao J, You J, He M. (PubMed)
(2) Assessment of herb-drug synergy to combat doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity by Jain A1, Rani V. (PubMed)
(3) Role of oxidative stress in cardiovascular diseases by Dhalla NS1, Temsah RM, Netticadan T. (PubMed)