Exercise and Curcumin in Combination Improves Cognitive Function and Attenuates ER Stress in Diabetic Rats

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 12; no. 5; p. 1309
• Main Authors: Cho, Jin Ah, Park, Se Hwan, Cho, Jinkyung, Kim, Jong-Oh, Yoon, Jin Hwan, Park, Eunmi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 04-05-2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Animals; Apoptosis; Biochemistry; Body weight loss; Cell cycle; Climbing; Cognition - drug effects; Cognitive ability; Cognitive Dysfunction - etiology; Cognitive Dysfunction - therapy; cognitive function; Curcumin; Curcumin - administration & dosage; Curcumin - pharmacology; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes mellitus (non-insulin dependent); Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental - complications; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental - psychology; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental - therapy; Dietary Supplements; Endoplasmic reticulum; endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress - drug effects; exercise; Glucose; Glucose - metabolism; Homeostasis; Homeostasis - drug effects; Inflammation; Inflammatory response; Insulin resistance; Interleukin 1; Interleukin 10; Interleukin 6; Intestine; Latency; Lipid Metabolism - drug effects; Lipids; Male; Metabolic disorders; Oxidative stress; Physical Conditioning, Animal - physiology; Phytotherapy; Proteins; Rats, Inbred OLETF; Rodents; Stress; Tumor necrosis factor-α; Weight loss; Weight Loss - drug effects; United States > US; Netherlands; Massachusetts; cognitive function; exercise; diabetes; endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress; curcumin
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu12051309

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a metabolic disease associated with chronic low-grade inflammation that is mainly associated with lifestyles. Exercise and healthy diet are known to be beneficial for adults with T2DM in terms of maintaining blood glucose control and overall health. We investigated whether a combination of exercise and curcumin supplementation ameliorates diabetes-related cognitive distress by regulating inflammatory response and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. This study was performed using male Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats (a spontaneous diabetes Type 2 model) and Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka (LETO) rats (LETO controls) by providing them with exercise alone or exercise and curcumin in combination. OLETF rats were fed either a diet of chow (as OLETF controls) or a diet of chow containing curcumin (5 g/kg diet) for five weeks. OLETF rats exercised with curcumin supplementation exhibited weight loss and improved glucose homeostasis and lipid profiles as compared with OLETF controls or exercised OLETF rats. Next, we examined cognitive functions using a Morris water maze test. Exercise plus curcumin improved escape latency and memory retention compared to OLETF controls. Furthermore, OLETF rats exercised and fed curcumin had lower IL6, TNFα, and IL10 levels (indicators of inflammatory response) and lower levels of ER stress markers (BiP and CHOP) in the intestine than OLETF controls. These observations suggest exercise plus curcumin may offer a means of treating diabetes-related cognitive dysfunction.