Neuroprotective Effects of Curcumin on the Proliferation and Viability of Neural Stem Cells against H2O2

Background: Oxidative stress and neuroinflammation have found to be implicated in several neurodegenerative disorders (ND). Neuroprotection against oxidative agents has been proposed as a therapy on the basis that it might prevent neuroinflammation. Curcumin is an anti-oxidant with anti-inflammatory properties which has been proposed to be used as a therapeutic agent in ND. Aim: In this study, we examined the neuroprotective effect of curcumin on neural stem cells (NSCs) exposed to H2O2 as an oxidative injury model. Methods: After culturing NSCs, they were co-treated with curcumin and H2O2, after which their effects were tested on cell viability using MTT assay. Results: Our results indicated that the high concentration of H2O2 significantly promoted cell death. Specifically, after using 250 µM of H2O2, the mortality increased dramatically in comparison with the control groups. On the other hand, the presence of curcumin encouraged cell survival of NSCs treated with H2O2. Conclusion: Our result showed that curcumin has a protective effect on NSCs against H2O2 and it may ameliorate the mortality rate induced by H2O2.