RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Bansal, Shruti A1 Chhibber, SanjayYR 2010 T1 Curcumin alone and in combination with augmentin protects against pulmonaryinflammation and acute lung injury generated during Klebsiella pneumoniae B5055-induced lung infection in BALB/c mice JF Journal of Medical Microbiology, VO 59 IS 4 SP 429 OP 437 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.016873-0 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1473-5644, AB Acute lung injuries due to acute lung infections remain a major cause ofmortality. Thus a combination of an antibiotic and a compound with immunomodulatoryand anti-inflammatory activities can help to overcome acute lung infection-inducedinjuries. Curcumin derived from the rhizome of turmeric has been used fordecades and it exhibits anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, immunomodulatoryproperties by downregulation of various inflammatory mediators. Keeping theseproperties in mind, we investigated the anti-inflammatory properties of curcuminin a mouse model of acute inflammation by introducing Klebsiella pneumoniae B5055 into BALB/c mice via the intranasal route. Intranasal instillationof bacteria in this mouse model of acute pneumonia-induced inflammation resultedin a significant increase in neutrophil infiltration in the lungs along withincreased production of various inflammatory mediators [i.e. malondialdehyde (MDA),myeloperoxidase (MPO), nitric oxide (NO), tumour necrosisfactor (TNF)-α] in the lung tissue. The animalsthat received curcumin alone orally or in combination with augmentin, 15 daysprior to bacterial instillation into the lungs via the intranasal route, showeda significant (P <0.05) decrease in neutrophil influxinto the lungs and a significant (P <0.05) decreasein the production of MDA, NO, MPO activity and TNF-α levels.Augmentin treatment alone did not decrease the MDA, MPO, NO and TNF-α levels significantly (P >0.05) as compared tothe control group. We therefore conclude that curcumin ameliorates lung inflammationinduced by K. pneumoniae B5055 without significantly (P <0.05) decreasing the bacterial load in the lung tissue whereasaugmentin takes care of bacterial proliferation. Hence, curcumin can be usedas an adjunct therapy along with antibiotics as an anti-inflammatory or animmunomodulatory agent in the case of acute lung infection., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.016873-0