Efficacy of Curcumin in the Modulation of Anxiety Provoked by Sulfite, a Food Preservative, in Rats.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Animal research with no human data
PubMed 28702432 · doi:10.3746/pnf.2017.22.2.144
What was done
Male rats were divided into five groups receiving daily gastric gavage for 8 weeks: distilled water (vehicle of sulfite, 1 mL/d), olive oil (vehicle of curcumin, 1 mL/d), curcumin (100 mg/kg/d), sulfite (25 mg/kg/d), or combined sulfite plus curcumin. Anxiety-like behavior and motor activity were assessed at 8 weeks using the elevated plus-maze test.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values, confidence intervals, or p-values. Directionally, sulfite exposure provoked anxiety-like behavior, whereas concurrent curcumin treatment prevented the reduction of time spent in the open arm and entrance to the open arm. Curcumin plus sulfite also showed increased motor activity compared to sulfite alone.
Why it matters
This study provides preliminary animal evidence that dietary curcumin might counteract neurobehavioral effects associated with sulfite preservative exposure.
Limits
This is an animal study and findings cannot be directly generalized to humans. The abstract omits sample sizes per group, exact measurements, effect sizes, and statistical values. Mechanism of action was not evaluated in the reported abstract data.
Cited by
- supports Excess levels of histamine, sulfites, glutamate, and adrenaline are linked to anxiety.