Influence of long-term administration of Curcuma longa extract on explorative activity in aged rats

The effects of long-term administration of a standardised extract of Curcuma longa on the explorative activity in aged 24-month-old male Wistar rats were estimated in a hole-board test. The animals received the extract orally for two months in rodent chow at doses of 10 and 50 mg/kg/day. The correlations between concentration of some neurotransmitters and amino acids in selected brain regions, as well as the level of corticosterone in plasma (described previously), and the parameters of exploration were calculated. The antioxidant processes (GSH, GST, CAT and MDA levels) in heart and skeletal muscles were also investigated. The results suggested that the explorative activity of plant extract-treated rats was enhanced; however, no correlations between brain neurotransmitter concentration or plasma corticosterone level and the parameters of explorative activity were observed. In biochemical investigation, chronic C. longa extract administration influenced antioxidant processes (CAT, GST and MDA levels) in skeletal muscles of aged rats, but not in the heart muscle