Materials and Methods: In this case-control, interventional, and quantitative applied research, 21-day-old NMRI (Naval Medical Research Institute) female mice were used as control, vehicle, and curcumin groups. The mice in the curcumin group received 100 mg/kg/d curcumin intraperitoneally. After initial interventions, the Annexin-V-FLUOS staining was applied to evaluate the oocyte apoptosis rate in the three groups at 6, 12, and 33 weeks of age. The expression of oocytes apoptosis-related genes (Bcl2 and Bax) was also assessed by the real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, followed by measuring oxidation-reduction markers in the ovaries.

Results: Our results showed that oocyte apoptosis and necrosis in the curcumin group decreased in comparison with the control and vehicle groups at 12 and 33 weeks (P < 0.001). Moreover, the use of curcumin led to the upregulation of Bcl2 and downregulation of Bax genes at 6, 12, and 33 weeks (P < 0.001). In addition, the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities increased in the curcumin group compared with control and vehicle groups at 12 and 33 weeks (P < 0.001) while malondialdehyde (MDA) decreased in the curcumin group at 12 (P < 0.001), in the control at 12 (P < 0.01), and in the vehicle at 33 weeks (P < 0.01).

Conclusions: In general, curcumin could suppress oocyte apoptosis through upregulating Bcl2 and the downregulating of Bax gene, as well as suppressing oxidative stress pathways involving oocyte apoptosis and necrosis.