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.

Abstract

The schematics represent the potential mechanisms by which CDC effectively protects against ARDS/COVID‐19. Antiviral curcumin against SARS‐CoV‐2 mediated by distracting the ACE2, which prevents the entry of the virus into the cells. CDC induces antiviral responses by positively repressing the expression of ACE2, Nrf2, STAT‐3 and C–X–C motif chemokine 10 (CXCL10). CDC mediates immunomodulatory responses by inhibiting inflammation, cytokines, apoptosis and oxidative stress, therefore mitigating the progression to KP/ARDS following SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. CDC, cyclodextrin‐complexed curcumin; ARDS, acute respiratory distress syndrome; coronavirus disease 2019, COVID‐19; SARS‐CoV‐2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; ACE2, angiotensin‐converting enzyme 2; Nrf2, nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2; STAT‐3, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3; KP, Klebsiella pneumoniae