Co-administration of cisplatin and curcumin does not alter mood-associated behaviors

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Cisplatin (cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II)) is a widely-used platinum-based chemotherapeutic agent which has dose-limiting side-effects. Also, the drug resistance is another instance that decreases treatment success in cisplatin chemotherapy. The growing body of evidence suggests that curcumin, a polyphenolic compound extracted from the spice turmeric, may exert synergistic effects and sensitize malign cells to cisplatin, while alleviating cytotoxicity-related side-effects. The present study was aimed to investigate mood-associated interactions between cisplatin and curcumin. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-four adult male Wistar albino rats were randomly assigned to four groups as control, curcumin (300 mg/kg/day, p.o. for 5 weeks), cisplatin (5 mg/kg/week, i.p. for 5 weeks), and curcumin plus cisplatin (same doses as above). The open field, elevated plus maze, and forced swim tests were engaged to evaluate mood-associated behaviors. RESULTS: We demonstrated that depression- and anxiety-like behaviors were not altered by the administration of curcumin along with the chronic cisplatin treatment. CONCLUSION: According to the results of the present study, we concluded that curcumin might be regarded as a safe adjuvant in cisplatin chemotherapy in terms of the mood-associated behaviors.