Browsing by Author "Connors, Craig"

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    Effect of Curcuminoids in Turmeric on Developing Zebrafish Treated with Ethanol
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2016-04-08) Connors, Craig; Mohammed, Arooj; Muralidharan, Pooja; Sarmah, Swapnalee; Marrs, James; Marrs, Kathleen A.; Chism, Grady
    This experiment was designed with the intention of determining whether turmeric could act as a rescue agent to prevent or mitigate the extent of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) caused by early ethanol exposure using zebrafish as a model system. A range of turmeric concentrations were made from a stock solution of turmeric dissolved in ethanol (1mg turmeric in 5mL ethanol). The active agents in turmeric are the curcuminoids: Curcumin, Desmethoxycurcumin, and Bisdemethoxycurcumin. The curcuminoids concentration was estimated using liquid chromatography. These agents were present in the turmeric stock solution at the following concentrations: Bisdemethoxycurcumin: 36.6 +/- 0.1 ug/mL, Desmethoxycurcumin: 43.4 +/- 0.1 ug/mL, and Curcumin: 124.1 +/- 0.2 ug/mL. Untreated zebrafish embryos were placed in embryo medium, ethanol treated embryos in 100mM ethanol containing embryo medium, and turmeric co-supplemented medium with differing concentrations of turmeric. Since the turmeric stock solution was dissolved in ethanol, the concentration of ethanol was kept at a constant 100mM ethanol and the amount of turmeric solution added. The concentrations of the test plates were then based on this solution and made to be 100 mM ethanol and 1.16 uM curcuminoids, 100 mM ethanol and 1.74 uM curcuminoids, and 100 mM ethanol and 2.32 uM curcuminoids. The developing embryos were treated with the turmeric solution and/or ethanol during 2-24 hours post fertilization (hpf). These embryos were imaged at 72 hpf and their body length and eye diameter were measured. The embryos supplemented with curcuminoids showed a significant rescue effect on the body length and eye diameter compared to ethanol treated embryos. This indicates that the curcuminoids acted as a rescue agent to reduce the effects that are typical of FASD in developing zebrafish.
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    Turmeric Extract Rescues Ethanol‐Induced Developmental Defect in the Zebrafish Model for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
    (Wiley, 2017) Muralidharan, Pooja; Connors, Craig; Mohammed, Arooj S.; Sarmah, Swapnalee; Marrs, Kathleen A.; Marrs, James A.; Chism, Grady W.; Biology, School of Science
    Prenatal ethanol exposure causes the most frequent preventable birth disorder, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). The effect of turmeric extracts in rescuing an ethanol‐induced developmental defect using zebrafish as a model was determined. Ethanol‐induced oxidative stress is one of the major mechanisms underlying FASD. We hypothesize that antioxidant inducing properties of turmeric may alleviate ethanol‐induced defects. Curcuminoid content of the turmeric powder extract (5 mg/mL turmeric in ethanol) was determined by UPLC and found to contain Curcumin (124.1 ± 0.2 μg/mL), Desmethoxycurcumin (43.4 ± 0.1 μg/mL), and Bisdemethoxycurcumin (36.6 ± 0.1 μg/mL). Zebrafish embryos were treated with 100 mM (0.6% v/v) ethanol during gastrulation through organogenesis (2 to 48 h postfertilization (hpf)) and supplemented with turmeric extract to obtain total curcuminoid concentrations of 0, 1.16, 1.72, or 2.32 μM. Turmeric supplementation showed significant rescue of the body length at 72 hpf compared to ethanol‐treated embryos. The mechanism underlying the rescue remains to be determined.