Curcumin recovers the toxic effects of nicotine on hippocampus cornu ammonis 1 in rats

Objective: To evaluate the effects of curcumin (CUM) against Nicotine (NIC) induced damage to the hippocampal cortex of rats. Materials and Methods: In this study, 48 Wistar male rats were randomly assigned to eight groups: normal group, NIC group (0.5 mg/kg), CUM groups (10, 30, and 60 mg/kg), and NIC + CUM groups (10, 30, and 60 mg/kg). Treatments were administered intraperitoneally (i. p) daily for 28 days. Golgi and cresyl violet staining techniques were employed to investigate the number of neurons and dendritic spines. The techniques of Griess, ferric reducing/antioxidant power, and hippocampal malondialdehyde (MDA) were used. Results: NIC administration significantly increased the nitrite oxide (NO) and MDA levels and decreased the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) as well as the number of neuronal dendritic spines and neurons compared to the normal group (P < 0.01). In all the CUM and NIC + CUM groups, the number of neurons, neuronal dendritic spines, and TAC increased significantly compared to the NIC group, whereas the NO level and MDA diminished significantly compared to the NIC group (P < 0.01). Conclusions: It seems that CUM administration improves the hippocampal NIC-induced injuries in the CA1 region of rats.