Curcumin: Natural Antimicrobial and Anti Inflammatory Agent

The pursuance of novel antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agents has been expanding due to a significant need for more efficient pharmacotherapy of various infections and chronic diseases. During the last decade, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and pharmacological properties of curcumin have been extensively studied. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antibacterial activity of curcumin against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as its antifungal activity by using in vitro agar well diffusion assay. Moreover, the anti-inflammatory activity of curcumin was determined with in vitro assay of inhibition of protein denaturation. Results demonstrated wide antimicrobial activity of curcumin upon all of the test bacteria and fungi. The strongest activity of curcumin was observed at a concentration of 0.50 mg/ml against S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, E. coli, P. aeruginosa and C. albicans, resulting in a maximum zone of inhibition of 14.7 mm, 14.3 mm, 13.7 mm, 10.7 mm and 10.7 mm, respectively. Findings suggested that the antimicrobial activity of curcuminis dependent upon the concentrations. Furthermore, results demonstrated high effectiveness of curcumin compared to standard acetylsalicylic acid in inhibiting heat-induced protein denaturation, which activity is also depended upon the concentrations. The present study emphasises the potential application of curcumin as a natural antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agent. However, findings of this study are restricted to in vitro assays and consideration should be given to conducting a study involving wider dose range test substances as well as including further research on in vivo models.