EFFECT OF RETINOL DEFICIENCY AND CURCUMIN OR TURMERIC FEEDING ON BRAIN NA+-K+ ADENOSINE-TRIPHOSPHATASE ACTIVITY

The effect of retinol deficiency and curcumin and turmeric feeding on brain microsomal Na+-K+ ATPase activity was investigated. The brain Na+-K+ ATPase activity registered an increase of 148.5% as compared to the control group. Upon treating retinol deficient rats with curcumin or turmeric, the abnormally elevated activity showed a decrease of 36.9 and 47.1%, respectively, when compared to the retinol deficient group. An increase in V-max by 67% and K-m by 66% for ATP was observed in the retinol deficient group. Curcumin or turmeric fed retinol-deficient groups reduced the V-max by 25 and 33%, while K-m was reduced by 25 and 31%, respectively, compared to the retinol deficient group. Arrhenius plot of Na+-K+ ATPase showed a typical bi-phasic pattern in all the groups. Cholesterol:Phospholipid ratio showed a decrease in the retinol-deficient group by 67.8%, which showed a marked increase in curcumin or turmeric treated groups. Detergents could increase the Na+-K+ ATPase activity more in the control group than in the retinol deficient groups. Curcumin or turmeric improved the detergent action on the enzyme. Subsequent freezing and thawing over a period of 30 min decreased the enzyme activity by 22.8% in the retinol deficient group compared to 15.9% decrease in the control group. Curcumin or turmeric treated groups showed a decrease in the enzyme activity by 22.0 and 19.2%, respectively, when compared to the zero time in each group. In the presence of concanavalin-A (Con-A) there was only 52.4% stimulation in the enzyme activity in retinol deficient groups, compared to 108.0% in the control group. Curcumin or turmeric treated retinol-deficient groups showed a stimulation in the presence of con-A by 70 and 99.5%, respectively.