Figure 4.

Curcumin enhances ATP levels and oxidative stress. (A) ATP analysis of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae genetic background CEN.PK113-7D wildtype cells treated with indicated concentrations of curcumin for one hour. The data are presented as means ± SD (n = 9). **** p < 0.0001, as determined by an ordinary one-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s multiple comparisons test. (B and C) Expression of (B) mitochondrial ETC genes and (C) SOD2 gene was analyzed by qRT-PCR of yeast cells treated with DMSO and curcumin (10 μM). Gene expression of curcumin-treated samples were compared with DMSO control. (B) Data are represented as means ± SD (n = 2) and **** p < 0.0001 based on a two-way ANOVA followed by Šídák’s multiple comparisons test. (C) Data are represented as means ± SD (n = 4) and ** p < 0.01 based on two-sided Student’s t-tests. (D,F) Growth assay of yeast wildtype cells exposed to (B) hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and (C) curcumin at the indicated concentrations for 72 h. Growth was normalized to the untreated control. The data are presented as means ± SD (n = 4). Statistical significance was determined as follows: * p < 0.05, *** p < 0.001, **** p < 0.0001, and ns (non-significant) based on a two-way ANOVA followed by Šídák’s multiple comparisons test. (E) Lifespan of yeast wildtype and sod2∆-deletion postmitotic cells was evaluated in an SD medium using a 96-well plate. The survival of aging postmitotic cells was measured on day 7 and day 9, relative to the outgrowth of day 3. The data are presented as means ± SD (n = 4). Statistical significance was determined as follows: **** p < 0.0001 and ns (non-significant), based on a two-way ANOVA followed by Šídák’s multiple comparisons test.