Antioxidant Activity Of A Novel Chemically-Modified-Curcumin Compound (CMC 2.24)

Objectives: Using a new colorimetric method to evaluate the antioxidant activity of a novel matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitor, chemically-modified-curcumin-2.24 (CMC 2.24).
Methods: The antioxidant activity of different compounds was evaluated by their ability to prevent the oxidation of the dye, Brilliant Cresyl Blue (BCB), in the presence of oxidant agent, 750 µM sodium hypoclorite (NaClO). Curcumin and CMC 2.24 at different concentrations of 2, 5 and 10 µM were vortexed with 125 µM BCB first before NaClO was added. The mixture was vortexed and incubated in darkness for 5 minutes at room temperature. Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), and resveratrol were used as control molecules. The remaining BCB concentration was determined spectrophotometrically at 634 nm. The relative antioxidant activity (AA) was calculated.
Results: Although Vitamin C is a well-known antioxidant, it showed the least antioxidant activity, ranging from 5% to 7% at 5 and 10 µM concentrations. Resveratrol at concentrations of 2, 5, and 10 µM exhibited 5%, 14%, and 20% antioxidant activity respectively. When comparing curcumin with CMC 2.24, CMC 2.24 at all three concentrations tested (2, 5, and 10 µM) demonstrated higher antioxidant activity than curcumin in the range of 10%, 19%, and 28% respectively.
Conclusions: In the current study, we demonstrated that CMC 2.24 exhibited significantly higher antioxidant activity than both resveratrol and vitamin C as well as natural unmodified curcumin. These data indicate significant potential of this safe compound to alleviate oxidative stress associated with systemic conditions such as periodontal diseases, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease and stroke.