The Effect of Curcumin and Tocotrienol on the Development of Eye Disease

There is growing evidence that inflammation may be one of the causative factors ofmany chronic diseases especially which is related to eyes such as cataract,age-related maculardegeneration and uveitis. Several cytokines such as IL-1,IL-6, RANKL, OPG, and M-CSFwere implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic diseases. Anticytokine therapy using cytokineantagonists such as IL-receptor antagonist and TNF-binding protein was able to suppress theactivity of the respective cytokines and prevent bone loss. Few animal studies have shown thatvitamin E in the forms of palm-derived tocotrienol and α-tocopherol may prevent chronic eyedisease in rat models by suppressing IL-1 and IL-6. Free radicals are known to activatetranscription factor NFκB which leads to the production of bone resorbing cytokines.Tocotrienol, a potent antioxidant, may be able to neutralize free radicals before they couldactivate NFκB, therefore suppressing cytokine production and inflammatory reaction.Curcumin is widely reported to have potent anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and anticarcinogeniceffects. The anti-inflammatory action of curcumin seems to be closely related toinhibition of TNF-α and other inflammatory cytokines production and suppression of NF-κBactivation by blocking phosphorylation of inhibitory factor I-kappa B kinase (IκB) Tocotrienoland curcuminhave also been shown to inhibit COX-2, the enzyme involved in inflammatoryreactions of the these studied, tocotrienol seemed to be better than tocopherols in terms of itsability to suppress inflammation induced by cytokines.