Cadmium-induced toxicity is rescued by curcumin: A review

Cadmium (Cd) is one of the most common environmental and occupational heavy metals with extended distribution. Exposure to Cd may be associated with several deleterious consequences on the liver, bones, kidneys, lungs, testes, brain, immunological, and cardiovascular systems. Overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as the main mechanism behind its toxicity causes oxidative stress and subsequent damages to lipids, proteins, and DNA. Therefore, antioxidants along with chelating agents have shown promising outcomes against Cd-induced toxicity. Curcumin with various beneficial effects and medical efficacy has been evaluated for its inhibitory activities against biological impairments caused by Cd. Thus, this article is intended to address the effectiveness of curcumin against toxicity following Cd entry. Curcumin can afford to attenuate lipid peroxidation, glutathione depletion, alterations in antioxidant enzyme, and so forth through scavenging and chelating activities or Nrf2/Keap1/ARE pathway induction. © 2017 BioFactors, 43(5):645-661, 2017.