Curcumin alleviates cisplatin-induced learning and memory impairments

• Cisplatin provokes learning and memory deficits in rats.
• The cognitive side-effects of cisplatin emerge from the oxidative stress and cholinergic dysfunction.
• Curcumin improves the cognition, oxidative stress, and cholinergic functions in cisplatin-treated rats.

The present study has been designed to investigate the role of curcumin on cisplatin-inducedcognitive impairment and to reveal mechanisms of cisplatin’s detrimental actions on cognition in rats. Animals were treated with cisplatin (5 mg/kg/week) and/or curcumin (300 mg/kg/day) for 5 weeks. Morris water maze test was used to assess spatial learning and memory. Enzymatic activities of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were evaluated from hippocampus and plasma samples, and malondialdehyde (MDA), which is the end-product of lipid peroxidation, was determined by a colorimetric method. Our results showed that cisplatin (5 mg/kg/week, 5 weeks) caused learning and memory deficits, elevated MDA content, decreased SOD activity in the hippocampus and plasma, and AChE activity in the hippocampus. Curcumin improved learning and memory in rats with administration of cisplatin. In addition, curcumin significantly reduced the level of MDA and increased the activities of SOD and AChE. Taken together, our findings indicate that curcumin ameliorates cisplatin-induced spatial learning and memory impairment, possibly through restored cholinergic function and enhanced oxidative status.