Promising role of curcumin against viral diseases emphasizing COVID-19 management: A review on the mechanistic insights with reference to host-pathogen interaction and immunomodulation

• Published in: Journal of functional foods 2021-07, Vol.82, p.104503-104503, Article 104503
• Main Authors: Dhar, Shrinjana, Bhattacharjee, Pritha
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: COVID-19; Curcumin; Immunomodulation; Prophylaxis; Therapeutic drug; Viral lifecycle
• ISSN: 1756-4646; 2214-9414
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jff.2021.104503

[Display omitted] •Insilico studies predict curcumin-mediated inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 lifecycle within host cell.•Curcumin may minimize tissue damage and vascular leakage by regulating cytokine storm.•Curcumin can protect cellular immunity and trigger humoral immunity.•Curcumin can be considered as both prophylactic as well as a therapeutic drug against COVID-19. Curcumin has already acknowledged immense interest from both medical and scientific research because of its multifaceted activity. To date, the promising effects of curcumin were perceived against numerous inflammatory diseases. Besides, curcumin’s role as a medicine has been studied in many virus infections like influenza, HIV, etc. There is a need to analyze the cellular mechanisms of curcumin including host-pathogen interaction and immunomodulatory effects, to explore the role of curcumin against COVID-19. With this background, our study suggests that curcumin can prevent COVID-19 infections by inhibiting the pathogen entry, viral genome replication and steps in the endosomal pathway along with inhibition of T-cell signalling by impairing the autophagy-mediated antigen-presenting pathway. This review explicit the possible mechanisms behind curcumin-induced cellular immunity and a therapeutive dosage of curcumin suggesting a preventive strategy against COVID-19.