Search for a Herbal Medicine: Anti-asthmatic Activity of MethanolicExtract of Curcuma longa

Ethnopharmacological evidence tells us that rhizomes of Curcuma longa L. (Zingiberaceae) have an imposing array of pharmacological activities and has been used traditionally to treat inflammatory conditions since ages. Curcumin is one of the major constituent in Curcuma longa L., being accountable for its biological actions. Asthma is fundamentally the consequence of inflammatory process involving the respiratory system. In this present work we attempt to unravel the anti-asthmatic property of curcumin through changes brought about in some novel bio-molecular parameters that play a decisive role in the pathophysiology of inflammation and thereby in asthma. Short (15 days) and long (60 days) term studies were carried by dividing rats into 5 groups; each group consisted of 3 male and 3 female rats. Rats of all groups excluding the control (saline treated) group were sensitized with ovalbumin (OVA) and apart from the control and the sensitized control (i.e. only OVA treated) groups, remaining three groups received standard drug (i.e. ketotifen and beclomethasone), curcumin (100 mg/kg) and (200 mg/kg) correspondingly. Broncho alveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissue homogenate were obtained following sacrifice of animals after 15 days (short term) and 60 days (long term) of treatment and then nitrate, malonyl dialdehyde (MDA), myeloperoxidase (MPO) levels and percentage of intact and granulated mast cells were determined. On treatment with OVA, nitrate, MDA and MPO levels were elevated, whereas the percentage of intact mast cells was decreased in comparison to control levels. A considerable decrease in the nitrite, MDA and MPO levels were observed in the Curcumin-II (200 mg/kg) treated group when compared to that treated with Curcumin-I (100 mg/kg). Curcumin appreciably refurbished the distorted bio-molecular parameters in asthma. But, the precise molecular machinery by which curcumin decreases the levels of malonyl