The effect of curcumin (curcuma domestica val. extract) administration on apoptosis through pro brain-derived neutrophic factor expression aftertraumatic brain injury in the rats sprague-dawley

Background: Traumatic brain injury is one of the leading causes of death and disability in those of reproductive age, with approximately 0.5-1 million cases occurring per year. During the period of the brain injury, a cascade reaction occurs that causes apoptosis. Curcumin enhances the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF) via BDNF coding gene transcription. The different kind of injury creates neurotropic factors and cytokine which protect the existence of excitotoxicity, such as BDNF. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of curcumin on pro-BDNF(pBDNF) expression and apoptosis on the traumatic brain cellof Sprague-Dawleyrats. Methods: This study was a laboratory test on experimental animals with post-test only control group design. The sample size was 33 rats divided into 3 groups: the negative control group A (normal rats without curcumin treatment), the positive control group B (trauma model without curcumin treatment), and the trauma model group C (given oral curcumin extract treatment 200 mg per weight (kg) daily for 6 days). Results: There were significant differences in pBDNF expression between the three groups (p=0.000) with ANOVA methods. The positive control group B showed significant differences to the negative control group A and intervention group (p=0.000). Apoptosis showed significant differences between the three groups, which were as high as those for pBDNF expression. However, there were was no difference between the negative control group A and the intervention group. Conclusion: This study proves that curcumin stimulates the decreased of BDNF expression and decreases apoptosis in rat brain cells in traumatic models.