Therapeutic potential of curcumin in ARDS and COVID-19

Abstract

Curcumin is a safe, non-toxic, readily available and naturally occurring compound, an active constituent of Curcuma longa (turmeric). Curcumin could potentially treat diseases, but faces poor physicochemical and pharmacological characteristics. To overcome these limitations, we developed a stable, water-soluble formulation of curcumin called cyclodextrin-complexed curcumin (CDC). We have previously shown that direct delivery of CDC to the lung following lipopolysaccharides exposure reduces acute lung injury (ALI) and effectively reduces lung injury, inflammation and mortality in mice following Klebsiella pneumoniae. Recently, we found that administration of CDC led to a significant reduction in angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 expression in gene and protein levels following pneumonia, indicating its potential in treating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this review, we consider the clinical features of ALI and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and the role of curcumin in modulating the pathogenesis of bacterial/viral-induced ARDS and COVID-19.

Keywords: ALI; ARDS; COVID-19; NF-κB; curcumin; pneumonia.

FIGURE 1

The proposed mechanism model responsible for curcumin's protective effects in mice following LPS/KP. Cyclodextrin‐complexed curcumin (CDC) inhibits the production of proinflammatory cytokines by targeting the NF‐κB pathway. CDC targets NF‐κB signalling by inhibiting the activation of IL‐1β, IL‐6 and MCP1. KP, Klebsiella pneumoniae; CDC,; NF‐κB, nuclear factor‐κB; IL, interleukin; MCP1, monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1