NTU Undergraduates' research April 2014 - Biosciences | Page 70

Sonika Awasthy N0360264

The effects of curcumin on the growth & differentiation of C2C12 muscle cell
lines; with a look at combined effects with insulin
Abstract
Curcumin is a polyphenol which has pleiotropic activities and limited bioavailability. Curcumin has been used
for its beneficial health effects across the world for centuries. Multiple studies have taken place to understand
how this spice works but mechanisms associated with the health benefits are not widely accepted and still
remain a grey area. This study focuses on curcumin’s direct effects on the progression and differentiation of
C2C12 cells, in conjunction with treatments of insulin. This was established by incubation of C2C12 myoblasts
for 48 hours with various treatments. MTT and Neutral Red assays were performed on the treated cells to
assess levels of mitochondria and cytoplasm, along with measuring protein levels and activity of creatine
kinase. High concentrations of curcumin proved to have inhibitory effects on proliferation and killed most cells
whereas low concentrations still maintained cell numbers, but proliferation and growth was stunted. Growthstimulating insulin combined with highly concentrated curcumin had no effect due to curcumin’s strength.
Differentiated C2C12 cells existed with high concentrations of curcumin whereas cells treated with low
concentrations showed to only proliferate. It was concluded from this, that curcumin’s was very potent and
that further analysis on mechanisms and signalling pathways using Western blot analysis for example, would
be very interesting to investigate.