Curcumin mitigates acrylamide-induced ovarian antioxidant disruption and apoptosis in female Balb/c mice: A comprehensive study on gene and protein expressions.

Curcumin is known for its antioxidant properties. This study aimed to investigate the impact of curcumin on acrylamide (ACR)-induced alterations in the first-line antioxidant defense of ovarian tissue. Female Balb/c mice were divided into control, ACR (50 mg/kg), ACR/CUR100 (received Acr + curcumin100 mg/kg), and ACR/CUR200 (Acr + curcumin 200 mg/kg) groups, and received oral treatments for 35 days. Evaluation of antioxidant enzyme expression (, , genes), pro-apoptotic gene expressions (, ), and anti-apoptotic gene expression () at mRNA and protein levels was done. Percentage of apoptotic cells using Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay was performed. The model group (ACR) showed decreased mRNA expression of , , and genes compared with the control group. Treatment with two different doses of curcumin (CUR100 and CUR200) significantly increased , , and gene expression, with CUR200 demonstrating significant recovery. SOD, CAT, and GPX protein levels were similar to mRNA expression trends, significantly increased with curcumin administration. Acrylamide exposure significantly increased and expression and decreased gene expression leading to a notable rise in apoptosis in ACR group as compared to the control group. Conversely, curcumin administration, significantly reduced and expressions, with an increase in , though not statistically significant. TUNEL assay revealed a substantial decrease in apoptosis in curcumin-received groups. In our study, ACR exposure adversely affected ovarian antioxidant defense thereby leading to increased pro-apoptotic markers. Notably, curcumin treatment effectively mitigated these effects, restored antioxidant potential, and reduced acrylamide-induced toxicity in female mouse ovaries.