ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Reproduction
This article is part of the Research TopicEndocrine Regulation of Ovarian Follicle Development and Oocyte Maturation: Molecular Mechanisms and Functional InsightsView all 9 articles
Synergistic Therapeutic Effects of Metformin and Curcumin on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome via Regulation of Insulin Resistance and Oxidative Stress in a Rat Model
Provisionally accepted
- 1The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
- 2Clinical Medical College and The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Objective: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine and metabolic disorder characterized by insulin resistance, hyperandrogenism, and elevated oxidative stress. The present study aimed to investigate the synergistic therapeutic effects of metformin and curcumin on insulin resistance and oxidative stress in a rat model of PCOS. Materials and Methods: Thirty female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to blank control (n = 6) and experimental (PCOS) groups (n = 24). The PCOS model was induced through daily subcutaneous injections of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA, 60 mg/kg) for 20 days. Subsequently, the experimental group was subdivided into four groups: PCOS-only, PCOS-metformin (300 mg/kg), PCOS-curcumin (50 mg/kg), and PCOS-metformin-curcumin (combined treatment). Treatments were administered daily via oral gavage for another 20 days. Estrous cycles, ovarian morphology, serum sex hormones, insulin resistance, and oxidative stress in ovarian tissues were assessed. Results: Combined treatment with metformin and curcumin significantly restored estrous cyclicity, improved ovarian morphology, reduced serum testosterone and luteinizing hormone levels, decreased LH/FSH ratio, and ameliorated insulin resistance compared to monotherapy groups. Moreover, the combined treatment markedly decreased ovarian oxidative stress markers (ROS and MDA) and enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities (GPx, SOD, GSH), surpassing the effects of either agent alone. Conclusion: Combined administration of metformin and curcumin demonstrated synergistic therapeutic effects in PCOS rats by concurrently addressing insulin
Keywords: Curcumin, Insulin Resistance, Metformin, Oxidative Stress, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Received: 29 Jul 2025; Accepted: 26 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Zheng, Wu, Zhang, Zhang, Yang, Deng, Huang and Lu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Chaolin Huang
Ling Lu
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.