{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,25]],"date-time":"2026-05-25T06:04:04Z","timestamp":1779689044477,"version":"3.53.1"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,23]],"date-time":"2026-05-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779494400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pharmaceuticals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: The increasing prevalence of antifungal resistance among Candida albicans (C. albicans) strains necessitates the development of alternative therapeutic strategies. Curcumin (CUR), a natural polyphenolic compound, has attracted attention due to its antimicrobial and immunomodulatory properties. This study aimed to evaluate the antifungal activity of curcumin (CUR) and its effects on cellular and nuclear morphometric parameters (area, width, height, and perimeter), cytoplasmic area, and the nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratio in an in vivo Galleria mellonella (G. mellonella) infection model. Methods: The experimental design consisted of four groups: (i) healthy control receiving phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), (ii) C. albicans-infected group (1.5 \u00d7 108 CFU\/mL), (iii) infected group treated with CUR (10 mg\/kg), and (iv) healthy group treated with CUR. Survival was monitored for 96 h. Hemolymph samples were collected from larvae, smeared onto slides, and stained using May\u2013Gr\u00fcnwald\u2013Giemsa and Giemsa methods. Morphological evaluation and cytomorphometric analyses, including cellular area, nuclear area, cytoplasmic area, perimeter, width, height, and nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio, were performed. Results: A higher dose (100 mg\/kg) resulted in 100% mortality within 24 h and was therefore defined as lethal, whereas 10 mg\/kg showed no toxicity in healthy larvae. Hemolymph was collected from surface-sterilized larvae, pooled per group, and a 10 \u00b5L aliquot was smeared onto slides. Conclusions: CUR exhibited significant antifungal activity against C. albicans and modulated host immune cell morphometry in the G. mellonella model. Its effects were dose-dependent, with potential cytotoxicity at higher concentrations. Further studies involving quantitative fungal burden analyses and mammalian models are required to clarify its therapeutic potential.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ph19060817","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,25]],"date-time":"2026-05-25T05:33:54Z","timestamp":1779687234000},"page":"817","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Evaluation of Curcumin in Candida albicans Infection: Cytomorphometric Analysis, Antifungal Activity and Immunomodulatory Effects in Galleria mellonella"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Sukran","family":"Ozturk","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zonguldak Bulent Ecevit University, 67600 Zonguldak, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zehra","family":"Safi Oz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Zonguldak Bulent Ecevit University, 67600 Zonguldak, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kwadha, C.A., Ong\u2019amo, G.O., Ndegwa, P.N., Raina, S.K., and Fombong, A.T. 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