Stress may be a cause of deterioration in brain function that leads to certain mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. Stress is damaging because it causes the release or pro-inflammatory cytokines in the brain, and this then leads to a number of detrimental changes that can include increases in oxidative stress, increases in cortisol release, and changes to monoamine levels. These changes are seen in individuals with mood disorders and the avoidance of unnecessary chronic and detrimental or harmful levels of stress are therefore recommended as a first step at preventing mood disorders. Compounds that can address such detrimental changes in the brain may therefore act to elevate mood, and in this regard a large number of phytochemicals have been shown to be effective. Turmeric may be particularly effective in this capacity because it is not only an effective antioxidant, and so is able to reduce oxidative stress, but it is also an anti-inflammatory, and so is able to reduce the inflammatory component of stress.
Curcumin is considered the main active component of turmeric (Curcuma longa). Curcumin is one of a group of similalrly structured curcumoids that are phenolic compounds. These curcumoids are thought to act a neuromodulatory, anti-inflammatory and antioxidants in brain tissue. This gives them potentially therapeutic effects at treating mood disorders.
Curcumin is thought to be the active component in turmeric that gives it its antiooxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Studies have investigated the effects of curcumin on the development of changes that might cause mood disorders, including the stress component. One group of researcher exposed rats to chronic stress for 20 days and this caused behavioural changes associated along with increased levels of the stress hormone corticosterone. Curcumin was able to reverse these changes. The stress the rats were exposed to also decreased brain levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a peptide hormone require to neuronal health. However curcumin reversed this change. Further, the stress also reduced the activation of cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB), a change associated with alterations in gene expression. Curcumin was also able to reverse changes to CREB. Therefore curcumin appear to have anti-stress effects that protect the brain from certain detrimental changes.
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