Antimicrobial Potential of Curcumin: Therapeutic Potential and Challenges to Clinical Applications

Overview

Journal Antibiotics (Basel)

Specialty Pharmacology

Date 2022 Mar 25

PMID 35326785

Authors

Yaseen Hussain

Waqas Alam

Hammad Ullah

Marco Dacrema

Maria Daglia

Haroon Khan

Carla Renata Arciola

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Curcumin is a bioactive compound that is extracted from and that is known for its antimicrobial properties. Curcuminoids are the main constituents of curcumin that exhibit antioxidant properties. It has a broad spectrum of antibacterial actions against a wide range of bacteria, even those resistant to antibiotics. Curcumin has been shown to be effective against the microorganisms that are responsible for surgical infections and implant-related bone infections, primarily and . The efficacy of curcumin against and , alone or in combination with other classic antibiotics, is one of its most promising antibacterial effects. Curcumin is known to have antifungal action against numerous fungi that are responsible for a variety of infections, including dermatophytosis. Candidemia and candidiasis caused by species have also been reported to be treated using curcumin. Life-threatening diseases and infections caused by viruses can be counteracted by curcumin, recognizing its antiviral potential. In combination therapy with other phytochemicals, curcumin shows synergistic effects, and this approach appears to be suitable for the eradication of antibiotic-resistant microbes and promising for achieving co-loaded antimicrobial pro-regenerative coatings for orthopedic implant biomaterials. Poor water solubility, low bioavailability, and rapid degradation are the main disadvantages of curcumin. The use of nanotechnologies for the delivery of curcumin could increase the prospects for its clinical application, mainly in orthopedics and other surgical scenarios. Curcumin-loaded nanoparticles revealed antimicrobial properties against in periprosthetic joint infections.

Citing Articles

Fmoc-FF Nanogel-Mediated Delivery of Doxorubicin and Curcumin in Thyroid Cancer Cells.

Gallo E, Smaldone G, Cimmino L, Braile M, Orlandella F, Luciano N Pharmaceutics. 2025; 17(2).

PMID: 40006633 PMC: 11858838. DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics17020263.

Advancing Gel Systems with Natural Extracts: Antioxidant, Antimicrobial Applications, and Sustainable Innovations.

Kawee-Ai A Gels. 2025; 11(2).

PMID: 39996668 PMC: 11855317. DOI: 10.3390/gels11020125.

Development of Curcumin Encapsulated Liposomes in Chlorhexidine-Loaded Organogel Using Ternary Phase Systems for Treatment of Omphalitis in Infants.

Cardoso-Daodu I, Ilomuanya M Adv Pharmacol Pharm Sci. 2025; 2025:6828052.

PMID: 39949863 PMC: 11824790. DOI: 10.1155/adpp/6828052.

Curcumin-Loaded Lipid Nanoparticles: A Promising Antimicrobial Strategy Against in Endodontic Infections.

Ferreira S, Grenho L, Fernandes M, Costa Lima S Pharmaceutics. 2025; 17(1).

PMID: 39861755 PMC: 11768553. DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics17010108.

Oral supplementation of curcumin-encapsulated chitosan nanoconjugates as an innovative strategy for mitigating nickel-mediated hepatorenal toxicity in rats.

Hassanen E, Hassan N, Mehanna S, Hussien A, Ibrahim M, Mohammed F Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol. 2025; .

PMID: 39836252 DOI: 10.1007/s00210-025-03799-4.

References

Huang H, Chio C, Lin J . Inhibition of EV71 by curcumin in intestinal epithelial cells. PLoS One. 2018; 13(1):e0191617. PMC: 5784943. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0191617. View

Mirani A, Kundaikar H, Velhal S, Patel V, Bandivdekar A, Degani M . Tetrahydrocurcumin-loaded vaginal nanomicrobicide for prophylaxis of HIV/AIDS: in silico study, formulation development, and in vitro evaluation. Drug Deliv Transl Res. 2019; 9(4):828-847. DOI: 10.1007/s13346-019-00633-2. View

Mun S, Joung D, Kim Y, Kang O, Kim S, Seo Y . Synergistic antibacterial effect of curcumin against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Phytomedicine. 2013; 20(8-9):714-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2013.02.006. View

Kumari N, Kulkarni A, Lin X, McLean C, Ammosova T, Ivanov A . Inhibition of HIV-1 by curcumin A, a novel curcumin analog. Drug Des Devel Ther. 2015; 9:5051-60. PMC: 4562762. DOI: 10.2147/DDDT.S86558. View

Shlar I, Poverenov E, Vinokur Y, Horev B, Droby S, Rodov V . High-Throughput Screening of Nanoparticle-Stabilizing Ligands: Application to Preparing Antimicrobial Curcumin Nanoparticles by Antisolvent Precipitation. Nanomicro Lett. 2018; 7(1):68-79. PMC: 6223933. DOI: 10.1007/s40820-014-0020-6. View

Sharma R, Gescher A, Steward W . Curcumin: the story so far. Eur J Cancer. 2005; 41(13):1955-68. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejca.2005.05.009. View

Mounce B, Cesaro T, Carrau L, Vallet T, Vignuzzi M . Curcumin inhibits Zika and chikungunya virus infection by inhibiting cell binding. Antiviral Res. 2017; 142:148-157. DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2017.03.014. View

Wu J, Hou W, Cao B, Zuo T, Xue C, Leung A . Virucidal efficacy of treatment with photodynamically activated curcumin on murine norovirus bio-accumulated in oysters. Photodiagnosis Photodyn Ther. 2015; 12(3):385-92. DOI: 10.1016/j.pdpdt.2015.06.005. View

Gami P, Kundu D, Seera S, Banerjee T . Chemically crosslinked xylan-β-Cyclodextrin hydrogel for the in vitro delivery of curcumin and 5-Fluorouracil. Int J Biol Macromol. 2020; 158:18-31. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.04.237. View

10.

Mody D, Athamneh A, Seleem M . Curcumin: A natural derivative with antibacterial activity against Clostridium difficile. J Glob Antimicrob Resist. 2019; 21:154-161. PMC: 7153983. DOI: 10.1016/j.jgar.2019.10.005. View

11.

Ranjbar-Mohammadi M, Rabbani S, Bahrami S, Joghataei M, Moayer F . Antibacterial performance and in vivo diabetic wound healing of curcumin loaded gum tragacanth/poly(ε-caprolactone) electrospun nanofibers. Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl. 2016; 69:1183-91. DOI: 10.1016/j.msec.2016.08.032. View

12.

Marini E, Di Giulio M, Magi G, Di Lodovico S, Cimarelli M, Brenciani A . Curcumin, an antibiotic resistance breaker against a multiresistant clinical isolate of Mycobacterium abscessus. Phytother Res. 2017; 32(3):488-495. DOI: 10.1002/ptr.5994. View

13.

Bahari S, Zeighami H, Mirshahabi H, Roudashti S, Haghi F . Inhibition of Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing by subinhibitory concentrations of curcumin with gentamicin and azithromycin. J Glob Antimicrob Resist. 2017; 10:21-28. DOI: 10.1016/j.jgar.2017.03.006. View

14.

Song Z, Wu Y, Wang H, Han H . Synergistic antibacterial effects of curcumin modified silver nanoparticles through ROS-mediated pathways. Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl. 2019; 99:255-263. DOI: 10.1016/j.msec.2018.12.053. View

15.

Krausz A, Adler B, Cabral V, Navati M, Doerner J, Charafeddine R . Curcumin-encapsulated nanoparticles as innovative antimicrobial and wound healing agent. Nanomedicine. 2014; 11(1):195-206. PMC: 4461434. DOI: 10.1016/j.nano.2014.09.004. View

16.

Yousefi M, Ehsani A, Jafari S . Lipid-based nano delivery of antimicrobials to control food-borne bacteria. Adv Colloid Interface Sci. 2019; 270:263-277. DOI: 10.1016/j.cis.2019.07.005. View

17.

Zahedipour F, Hosseini S, Sathyapalan T, Majeed M, Jamialahmadi T, Al-Rasadi K . Potential effects of curcumin in the treatment of COVID-19 infection. Phytother Res. 2020; 34(11):2911-2920. PMC: 7276879. DOI: 10.1002/ptr.6738. View

18.

Trujillo J, Chirino Y, Molina-Jijon E, Anderica-Romero A, Tapia E, Pedraza-Chaverri J . Renoprotective effect of the antioxidant curcumin: Recent findings. Redox Biol. 2013; 1:448-56. PMC: 3814973. DOI: 10.1016/j.redox.2013.09.003. View

19.

Pourhajibagher M, Pourakbari B, Bahador A . Contribution of antimicrobial photo-sonodynamic therapy in wound healing: an in vivo effect of curcumin-nisin-based poly (L-lactic acid) nanoparticle on Acinetobacter baumannii biofilms. BMC Microbiol. 2022; 22(1):28. PMC: 8762960. DOI: 10.1186/s12866-022-02438-9. View

20.

Dai C, Wang Y, Sharma G, Shen J, Velkov T, Xiao X . Polymyxins-Curcumin Combination Antimicrobial Therapy: Safety Implications and Efficacy for Infection Treatment. Antioxidants (Basel). 2020; 9(6). PMC: 7346118. DOI: 10.3390/antiox9060506. View