Potential amelioration of nicotine-induced toxicity by nanocurcumin

Curcumin, a nontoxic bioactive agent of turmeric significantly reduces nicotine-induced toxicity both at cellular and genetic levels. The clinical implication of native curcumin is hindered in the target cells due to its low aqueous solubility, poor bioavailability and poor pharmacokinetics. The problem was tried to overcome by preparing nanocurcumin with a view to improve its aqueous solubility and better therapeutic efficacy against nicotine-induced toxicity. The prepared nanocurcumin was characterized by Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy; Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM); X-ray diffraction (XRD); and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Female albino rats of Wistar strain were daily exposed to effective dose of nicotine (2.5 mg/kg, injected subcutaneously) and supplemented with effective dose of curcumin (80 mg/kg body weight orally) or nanocurcumin (4 mg/kg body weight orally) for 21 days. The preventive efficacies of curcumin and nanocurcumin were evaluated against the changes in liver function enzymes, kidney function parameters, lipid profiles, lipid-peroxidation, anti-oxidant status, and tissues damages etc. Results revealed that nanocurcumin more effectively ameliorated the nicotine-induced toxicities at much lower concentration due to its higher aqueous solubility and more bioavailability. The nanocurcumin can be used as a potential therapeutic agent for better efficacy against nicotine-induced toxicities than native curcumin.