2017 Volume 23 Issue 2 Pages 275-281
Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is used as a food ingredient, coloring agent, and traditional medicine. While various medicinal properties of turmeric have long been known, scientific reports on its prevention and alleviation of alcohol hangover are scarce. In this study, we employed an assay system for the preventive effect of a turmeric extract against ethanol-induced hepatocyte injury, a presumed cause of alcohol hangover, and screened for its active compounds. The preventive effect of the turmeric extract and its fractions was assessed using primary hepatocytes isolated from Sprague-Dawley rats. The turmeric extract containing 6 µM curcuminoids showed stronger cytoprotective activity than the purified curcuminoids at 6 µM. The structures of additional active compounds were determined as ar-turmerone and bisacurone by NMR and mass spectrometry. Among curcumin, ar-turmerone, and bisacurone, bisacurone appeared to be most effective and showed preventive effects at concentrations as low as 1 µM.
