Treatment with Curcumin Delays the Development of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus by Decreasing Proinflammatory Cytokines in Non-Obese Diabetic Mice

Background: This work aimed to determine whether curcumin influences the development of type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) in a murine model. Methodology: Four groups of six non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice (A, B, C, and D) and one CD1 control group (E) were included. Groups A, B, and C received different doses of turmeric curcumin (50 mg/kg body weight (bw), 100 mg/kg bw, and 200 mg/kg bw, respectively) for six weeks, while groups D and E received only the vehicle simultaneously. Glycemia, body weight, and inflammatory infiltrate in the pancreatic islets were determined in all cases. Also, insulin and vitamin D receptor (VDR) expression in pancreatic cells was evaluated relative to the basal expression in the control (group E). Results: Glycemia in all the animals treated with curcumin remained stable from weeks 1 to 6, while the control group showed hyperglycemia (≥500 mg/dL) and weight loss (16.7 g ± 1 g). Treated animals had less inflammatory infiltrate, while maintaining insulin and VDR expression in the pancreas, compared with the control group. Finally, the serum concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines in treated animals were statistically lower than in the control group without curcumin. Conclusions: Curcumin delays the onset of T1DM and reduces pancreatic inflammatory infiltrate.