nano-curcumin attenuates brain oxidative stress and cognitive deficit in ketamine-induced anesthesia in adolescent rats

Background: anesthetics play a crucial role in medical procedures; however, some may have neurotoxic effects, particularly through oxidative stress mechanisms. ketamine, a widely used anesthetic, has been associated with neurotoxicity characterized by an imbalance in reactive oxygen species (ros) production and antioxidant defenses. objectives: this study aimed to investigate the effects of nano-curcumin on ketamine-induced alterations in the hippocampal antioxidant components and cognitive function in adolescent rats.methods: sixty male wistar rats were used for two experiments. experiment 1 assessed the biochemical effects of nano-curcumin on ketamine anesthesia, while experiment 2 evaluated its impact on spatial learning and memory. at the end of the experiment, oxidative stress parameters, such as malondialdehyde (mda), superoxide dismutase (sod), glutathione peroxidase (gpx) and catalase (cat), were measured. the morris water maze (mwm) test was used to assess cognitive function.results: biochemical assays revealed that ketamine anesthesia reduced antioxidant enzyme activity and total antioxidant capacity (tac) in the hippocampus (hp) while increasing lipid peroxidation. nano-curcumin treatment alleviated these effects, restoring antioxidant enzyme activity by significantly increasing sod and cat levels and reducing lipid peroxidation (p≤0.05). in the mwm test, ketamine anesthesia impaired spatial learning and memory, which was attenuated by nano-curcumin pretreatment.conclusion: nano-curcumin effectively prevented ketamine-induced neurotoxicity by restoring the antioxidant balance and ameliorating cognitive deficits. these results highlight the potential therapeutic utility of nano-curcumin in mitigating anesthesia-induced neurotoxicity and emphasize the importance of oxidative stress in anesthesia-related neurological complications.