Editor's Note
Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a plant in the ginger family (Zingiberaceae), native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The rhizomes of turmeric have been used in the Ayurvedic system of medicine for over 4,500 years, and are also as a prized culinary spice, and natural plant dye. Curcumin is a pharmacologically active polyphenol fraction derived from turmeric root which is popular as a dietary supplement and has been studied for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, anti-microbial, chemopreventative, and chemotherapeutic activities.
Afloxins can occur as contaminants in foods such as corn, rice, and other dried foods and spices as a result of fungal contamination associated with harvest or storage. Exposure to aflatoxins could induce liver injury; dietary polyphenols such as curcumin have been purported to protect the liver from exposure to toxins. The researchers here systematically investigate the protective effects of curcumin against aflatoxin-induced liver injury in mice to explore the possible molecular mechanisms. Results suggest that curcumin exerts liver protective effects in the presence of aflatoxin through a variety of mechanisms, including by acting as a modulator for the NLRP3 inflammasome and Nrf2 signaling pathways to mitigate AFB1-induced liver pyroptotic damage and oxidative stress.
