EFFECT OF COMBINATION TREATMENT OF CANDESARTAN AND CURCUMIN ON TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY IN MICE

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a severe condition and a major cause of death and disability, particularly in young adults. Traumatic brain injury invokes a complex inflammatory, oxidative and apoptotic responses. The present experimental study was designed to assess the effect of combination treatment of curcumin and candesartan on TBI in mice. Mice were classified into six groups (Sham, TBI and TBI post-treated with vehicle, curcumin, candesartan or combination of curcumin + candesartan for 7 days), n=12 each. Mice were anesthetized and then placed under a weight-drop device.The animals were killed by cervical dislocation, brains were rapidly isolated and homogenized. Traumatic brain injury group showed significant increment in MDA, TNF-Alpha, caspase-3 as compared to sham group and these effects were significantly ameliorated by curcumin, candesartan or their combination treatment. Also total antioxidant capacity (TAC) decreased markedly in the TBI group and increased significantly by concurrent treatment with curcumin &/or candesartan. Furthermore, histopathological examination confirmed these findings. Collectively these findings indicate that curcumin and candesartan have potential anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic and antioxidant effects. Accordingly, curcumin or candesartan might be employed as a therapeutic agent for TBI and their combination succeeded in adding better effects than the individual drugs.