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Review
. 2020 Nov 5:886:173551.
doi: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2020.173551. Epub 2020 Sep 12.

Curcumin, a traditional spice component, can hold the promise against COVID-19?

Vivek Kumar Soni  1 , Arundhati Mehta  1 , Yashwant Kumar Ratre  1 , Atul Kumar Tiwari  2 , Ajay Amit  3 , Rajat Pratap Singh  1 , Subash Chandra Sonkar  4 , Navaneet Chaturvedi  5 , Dhananjay Shukla  6 , Naveen Kumar Vishvakarma  7
Affiliations
Review

Curcumin, a traditional spice component, can hold the promise against COVID-19?

Vivek Kumar Soni et al. Eur J Pharmacol. .

Abstract

The severity of the recent pandemic and the absence of any specific medication impelled the identification of existing drugs with potential in the treatment of Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Curcumin, known for its pharmacological abilities especially as an anti-inflammatory agent, can be hypothesized as a potential candidate in the therapeutic regimen. COVID-19 has an assorted range of pathophysiological consequences, including pulmonary damage, elevated inflammatory response, coagulopathy, and multi-organ damage. This review summarizes the several evidences for the pharmacological benefits of curcumin in COVID-19-associated clinical manifestations. Curcumin can be appraised to hinder cellular entry, replication of SARS-CoV-2, and to prevent and repair COVID-19-associated damage of pneumocytes, renal cells, cardiomyocytes, hematopoietic stem cells, etc. The modulation and protective effect of curcumin on cytokine storm-related disorders are also discussed. Collectively, this review provides grounds for its clinical evaluation in the therapeutic management of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Keywords: COVID-19; Curcumin; Cytokine storm; Inflammation; Molecular targets.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no competing interest to disclose.

Figures

Image 1
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Potential Targets of Curcumin in cellular entry and replication of SARAS-CoV-2. Curcumin can block the spike protein, ACE2, basigin, TMPRSS2, Furin, CatB/L, and inhibits endosomal acidification in order to prevent the cellular entry of SSARS-CoV-2. Curcumin may hinder the replication of SARS-CoV-2 through inhibition of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), Main Protease (MPro) and its release from infected cells.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Modulation of Renin-Angiotensin System (RAS) by curcumin. Curcumin-mediated inhibition of ACE can decline the formation of AngII. Inactivation of AngII may be accelerated by curcumin-driven enhanced expression of ACE2. Curcumin can prevent the detrimental effects of AngII through the downregulation angiotensin AT1 receptor. Stimulation of angiotensin AT2 receptor and Mas receptor by Ang-(1–7) and Ang-(1–9), ACE2 catalyzed cleavage products of AngII and AngI, respectively, will also negate the effect of AngII.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Promising targets of curcumin in cell signaling in COVID-19. Inhibition of AngII-stimulated angiotensin AT1 receptor signaling in COVID-19 by curcumin will hamper the activation of NF-κB and MCP-1. Curcumin will also inhibit the ADAM17 and prevent the formation of IL-6-sIL-6R complex and EGF. Enhanced degradation of EGFR and inhibition of mTOR by curcumin will also prevent ill effects in COVID-19. Inhibition of STAT3 by curcumin will also avoid the production of inflammatory cytokines.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Inhibition of cytokine storm by curcumin in COVID-19. Viral components and cellular content released by infected cell lysis constitute PAMPs and DAMPs. PAMPs and DAMPs trigger TLR stimulation. Curcumin can inhibit TLR signaling and downstream activation of NF-κB, STAT3, and NLRP3 Inflammasome. This will prevent the production and elevated level of inflammatory cytokines, i.e. cytokine syndrome. This can avoid multiple organ damage in COVID-19.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Potential of curcumin in COVID-19. Curcumin can affect various dimensions in COVID-19 including cellular entry and replication of SARS-CoV-2, Renin-Angiotensin system, cell signaling, and cytokine storm through their regulatory components. This will provide protection and repair of multi-organ injury.
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