{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,3]],"date-time":"2026-11-03T13:30:21Z","timestamp":1793712621290,"version":"4.6.1"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"21","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,27]],"date-time":"2025-10-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1761523200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), remains a global health challenge, partly due to the prolonged duration and toxicity of standard antibiotic regimens. Adjunctive therapies that enhance antimicrobial efficacy and modulate host immunity are urgently needed. Curcumin, a natural bioactive compound derived from Curcuma longa, possesses broad therapeutic properties, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, and antiviral effects. This study evaluated the effects of curcumin in combination with first- and second-line antibiotics against Mtb in both in vitro and in vivo models. Our results demonstrated that curcumin exerts direct antibacterial activity against both the drug-sensitive H37Rv strain and a multidrug-resistant (MDR) clinical isolate. Furthermore, curcumin synergized with conventional antibiotics, enhancing bacterial clearance in infected macrophages while promoting the production of IL-12, a key cytokine in protective immune responses. In a murine model of progressive pulmonary TB, combination therapy with curcumin and first-line antibiotics significantly reduced the lung bacterial burden and improved behavioral outcomes compared to antibiotic treatment alone. These findings suggest that curcumin acts through both direct antimicrobial mechanisms and immune modulation, supporting its potential as an adjunctive therapy agent for TB. Future studies should focus on optimizing curcumin formulation, dosing, and bioavailability to facilitate the clinical translation of this compound.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms262110414","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,27]],"date-time":"2025-10-27T07:31:58Z","timestamp":1761550318000},"page":"10414","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Synergistic Effects of Curcumin and Antibiotics Against Drug-Sensitive and Multidrug-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6635-2939","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jacqueline V.","family":"Lara-Espinosa","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Secci\u00f3n de Patolog\u00eda Experimental, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias M\u00e9dicas y Nutrici\u00f3n Salvador Zubir\u00e1n, Vasco de Quiroga 15, Belisario Dom\u00ednguez Secci\u00f3n 16, Tlalpan, Ciudad de M\u00e9xico 14080, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5134-5573","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jorge","family":"Barrios-Pay\u00e1n","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Secci\u00f3n de Patolog\u00eda Experimental, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias M\u00e9dicas y Nutrici\u00f3n Salvador Zubir\u00e1n, Vasco de Quiroga 15, Belisario Dom\u00ednguez Secci\u00f3n 16, Tlalpan, Ciudad de M\u00e9xico 14080, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7395-0360","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vasti","family":"Lozano-Ordaz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Secci\u00f3n de Patolog\u00eda Experimental, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias M\u00e9dicas y Nutrici\u00f3n Salvador Zubir\u00e1n, Vasco de Quiroga 15, Belisario Dom\u00ednguez Secci\u00f3n 16, Tlalpan, Ciudad de M\u00e9xico 14080, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dulce","family":"Mata-Espinosa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Secci\u00f3n de Patolog\u00eda Experimental, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias M\u00e9dicas y Nutrici\u00f3n Salvador Zubir\u00e1n, Vasco de Quiroga 15, Belisario Dom\u00ednguez Secci\u00f3n 16, Tlalpan, Ciudad de M\u00e9xico 14080, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Enrique","family":"Becerril-Villanueva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Psicoinmunolog\u00eda, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatr\u00eda Ramon de la Fuente Mu\u00f1iz, Calzada M\u00e9xico-Xochimilco 101, Colonia, Huipulco, Tlalpan, Ciudad de M\u00e9xico 14370, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mar\u00eda Dolores","family":"Ponce-Regalado","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, Centro Universitario de los Altos, Universidad de Guadalajara, Av Rafael Casillas Aceves 120, Tepatitl\u00e1n de Morelos 47620, Jalisco, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1292-3833","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rogelio","family":"Hern\u00e1ndez-Pando","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Secci\u00f3n de Patolog\u00eda Experimental, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias M\u00e9dicas y Nutrici\u00f3n Salvador Zubir\u00e1n, Vasco de Quiroga 15, Belisario Dom\u00ednguez Secci\u00f3n 16, Tlalpan, Ciudad de M\u00e9xico 14080, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"171","DOI":"10.4236\/jtr.2015.34024","article-title":"Natural Remedies against Multi-Drug Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis","volume":"3","author":"Pandit","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. 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