Journal of dental research
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Curcumin has diverse therapeutic effects, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, and antimicrobial activities. The vanilloid moiety of curcumin is considered important for activation of the transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1), which plays an important role in nociception. However, very little is known about the effects of curcumin on nociception. ⋯ Intraperitoneally administered curcumin blocked capsaicin-induced thermal hyperalgesia in a dose-dependent manner. Whereas curcumin reduced capsaicin-induced currents in a dose-dependent manner in both trigeminal ganglion neurons and TRPV1-expressing HEK 293 cells, curcumin did not affect heat-induced TRPV1 currents. Taken together, our results indicate that curcumin blocks capsaicin-induced TRPV1 activation and thereby inhibits TRPV1-mediated pain hypersensitivity.