Table 5.

Effects of curcumin on copper toxicity based on doses, experimental methods, and findings.

Dose/Concentration	Name of Animal Model/Cell Lines	Route of Exposure	Duration of Exposure/Treatment	Results	Source
In Vivo
100 mg/kg CuSO4 + 80 mg/kg CUR; 100 mg/kg CuSO4 + 80 mg/kg nano-CUR	Male Wistar rats	Cu-orally/CUR-orally	7 days (co-administration)	↓cerebral oxidative stress, ↓cerebral inflammation in stress, ↓apoptosis, ↑AKT/GSK-3β signaling pathway, ↑BDNF	[82]
250 mg/kg CuONP + 200 mg/kg b.w. CUR	Rats	CuONP-oral gavage/CUR- orally	3 months (co-administration)	↑body weight gain, ↓serum creatinine, BUN levels, ↓KIM-1 in urine, kidney, ↓oxidative stress, ↓NO level, ↓mRNA expression of IL1-β, TNF-α, NF-ĸB ↑Nrf2, HO-1, γ-GCS gene expression in the kidney, ↓renal damage, ↓morphological tubular, glomerular alteration, ↓caspase-3	[138]
1 mM Cu + 0.2 or 0.5 mg/kg CUR	Drosophila melanogaster wild-type (Harwich strain) flies	Cu, CUR-medium	7 days (co-administration)	↓oxidative stress, ↓nitrite level, ↓AChE activity, ↓dopamine levels	[140]
4 mg/kg CuSO4 + 80 mg/kg CUR	Albino rats	CuSO4, CUR- orally by stomach tube	30 days (co-administration) CuSO4-15 days/CUR-15 days (post-treatment)	↓hepatic marker enzymes, ↑hepatic, renal antioxidants, MDA, ↓renal tissue damage, ↑antioxidant enzymes, ↓ROS	[141]
Other
Cu2+, Zn2+, Fe2+ + CUR		Spectrophotometry		Binding more readily Fe and Cu than Zn, ↓Aβ toxicity, ↓NF-κB	[142]

Abbreviations: ↑ = increase; ↓ = decrease; CUR: curcumin; Cu = copper; BDNF = brain-derived neurotrophic factor; AKT = protein kinase B; GSK-3β = glycogen synthase kinase-3β; CuONP = copper (II) oxide nanoparticles; BUN = blood urea nitrogen; KIM-1 = kidney injury molecule-1; NO = nitric oxide; IL1-β = interleukin-1β; TNF-α = tumor necrosis factor-alpha; NF-ĸB = nuclear factor-κB; Nrf2 = nuclear factor-erythroid factor 2-related factor 2; HO-1 = heme oxygenase-1; γ-GCS = γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase; AChE = acetylcholinesterase; MDA = malondialdehyde; ROS = reactive oxygen species; CuSO₄ = copper sulfate.