Pharmacological protection of mitochondrial function mitigates acute limb ischemia/reperfusion injury.

We describe several novel curcumin analogues that possess both anti-inflammatory antioxidant properties and thrombolytic activities. The therapeutic efficacy of these curcumin analogues was verified in a mouse ear edema model, a rat arterial thrombosis assay, a free radical scavenging assay performed in PC12 cells, and in both in vitro and in vivo ischemia/reperfusion models. Our findings suggest that their protective effects partially reside in maintenance of optimal mitochondrial function.