Evaluation of curcumin toxicity in rats through biochemical and hematological parameters

Curcumin is a natural compound known for hepatic and nephroprotective actions, however, there is little research related to its possible side effects. The research aimed to study hematological, biochemical parameters and histopathology of hepatic and renal tissues to evaluate the effects of curcumin toxicity in male rats. A group of Wistar male rats (n = 10) was orally treated for five days with 100 mg/kg of curcumin diluted in vegetable oil, and the other group (n=10) was treated with vegetable oil (control). Statistical difference was observed in the levels of creatinine, hematocrit, hemoglobin, and red blood cells count between the control and curcumin treated group. However, despite these differences, the values observed were within the normal ranges for of Wistar male rats. Histopathological alterations were not observed. Therefore, our results show that curcumin is relatively non-toxic and, because of its demonstrated pharmacological effects, it can be developed as a promising candidate drug. Key words: Curcumin, toxicity, side effects.