To investigate the protective effects of curcumin on acrylamide (AA)-induced DNA damage in HepG2 cells.After pretreatment with curcumin (0.63, 1.25 and 2.50 microg/ml) for 1 hour, HepG2 cells were exposed to various concentrations of AA (0, 10, 20 mmol/L) for 1 h, comet assay was performed to determine DNA damage. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was measured using the 2, 7-dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) method.One-hour exposure of HepG2 cells to AA led to a dose-dependent increase in DNA fragmentation. When the cells were pretreated with curcumin for 1 h, the comet tail moment values were decreased compared to only AA-treated cells, and curcumin of 2.50 microg/nml significantly decreased the comet tail moment values compared to only AA-treated cells (P0.05). The DCF fluorescence intensity increased when the HepG2 cells were treated with 10 and 20 mmol/L AA (P0.01). When the cells were pretreated with curcumin, the level of ROS was significantly decreased compared to only AA-treated (P0.01).These data suggest that curcumin could attenuate AA-induced DNA damage in HepG2 cells. The protection is probably mediated by antioxidant protective mechanism.
