Pharmacological potential of curcumin was assessed in PC12 cells against hydrogen peroxide (H(2) O(2)) exposure. In MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide] and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays, 24-hour exposure of H(2)O(2) (0.5 mM and above) was found to be cytotoxic. A significant (p < 0.001) increase in percentage cell viability was recorded in PC12 cells pretreated with curcumin (25, 50 and 100 µg/mL) for 24 hours prior to H(2)O(2) (0.5 and 1 mM) exposure for 24 hours. Co-exposure to H(2)O(2) and curcumin was also found effective. However, a therapeutic treatment of curcumin for 24 hours after H(2)O(2) exposure to the cells was found ineffective. Differential response of PC12-H(2)O(2) model to curcumin in MTT and LDH assays suggests the utility of these endpoints to sort the drug candidates to study their antioxidant potential.