Examination of the Neuroprotective effects of Liposome Encapsulated Curcumin Against Methylmercury induced Neurotoxicity in SH‐SY5Y Cells

Curcumin has been reported to produce a spectrum of effects, including antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory activity. However, a major limitation to the use of curcumin as a therapeutic agent is its limited absorption and rapid metabolism resulting in low bioavailability. One possible strategy would be to encapsulate curcumin within a liposome, allowing greater penetrance of the drug into the target tissue. This study was conducted to examine the neuroprotective effects of liposomal curcumin (LC) and unencapsulated curcumin (UC) against methylmercury (MeHg), an established neurotoxin. A cell viability tissue culture assay was utilized to examine the neuroprotective effects of both LC and UC. When neuroblastoma (NB) cells were incubated in culture with MeHg (50 nM), cell viability was found to be 61 ± 1.2 % at 48 hours of incubation. The minimal concentration found to produce complete protection against the neurotoxic effects of MeHg for LC and UC was 625nM and 2.5μM, respectively. Blank liposome control did not significantly alter the neurotoxicity of MeHg. These results indicate that curcumin is able to produce a neuroprotective effect against MeHg in NB cells and in the liposomal form, it is significantly more potent than the unencapsulated form. Such a finding supports the hypothesis that LC may have greater penetrance into the cell and thus may be a useful tool to treat methylmercury induced neurological diseases.