Curcumin, found in the turmeric root is known for its anti-inflammatory properties. Recent studies suggest that curcumin has the potential to lower blood pressure. However, the mechanism(s) in which this occurs or whether it works in females has not been fully elucidated. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that curcumin would lower blood pressure in an obese, postmenopausal model by regulating the activity of NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors on glutamatergic neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and rostral ventral lateral medulla (RVLM). Eight-week-old C57/B6 female mice were made obese on a 60% high fat diet prior to having their ovaries removed. After seven days of recovery, animals were administered via gavage, 300mg of curcumin per day for thirty days. Animals were anesthetized and transcardially perfused. Brains from perfused animals were sectioned thirty microns thick. Sections were collected throughout the hypothalamus and hindbrain and processed at the same time to ensure uniformity of immunostaining. Histological staining aligned with previous studies demonstrating that NMDA receptors are located on glutamatergic neurons within the PVN and RVLM. Our data demonstrated that obesity increased the phosphorylation of these receptors on glutamatergic neurons. We also observed that after daily consumption of curcumin, obese, estrogen deficient females’ expression of phosphorylated NMDA receptors was greatly diminished which explains in part the significant decrease in blood pressure that we observed in these animals. Collectively, these data suggest that curcumin can lower blood pressure in the presence of obesity and estrogen deficiency by attenuating the activation of NMDA receptors. Supported by Iowa Osteopathic Educational Research Foundation Grant Number: 06-24-02 This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2026 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.
Bunge et al. (Fri,) studied this question.