Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, PharmacenTM, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Curr Med Chem. 2021;28(27):5463-5497. doi: 10.2174/0929867328666210111102916.
Infectious diseases are caused by pathogenic microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses. Such diseases mostly develop in tropical and sub-tropical climates and represent major health challenges. The pathogens of these diseases are able to multiply in human hosts, warranting their continual survival. Prevention of these diseases is becoming extremely difficult due to the absence of effective vaccines and their treatment, less effective due to the emergence of resistance by their causative pathogens to existing drugs. Several currently available drugs employ oxidative stress, resulting from the generation of reactive oxygen nitrogen species (RONS), as the mechanism for exerting their pharmacological actions. RONS inhibit endogenous antioxidant enzymes, which ultimately eradicate the microbiota. Curcumin, a redox-active natural product, for centuries, has been used in Asian traditional medicine for the treatment of various diseases. It is known for possessing multiple biological and pharmacological activities. Curcumin has been investigated extensively over the years for its anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antiparasitic, antiviral and antibacterial activities, and no toxicity is associated with the compound. Despite its potency and good safety profile, curcumin is still in clinical trials for the treatment of diseases, such as tuberculosis, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), Crohn's disease, colorectal cancer, and multiple myeloma, among many others, as it is yet to be qualified as a therapeutic agent. This review summarizes events over the last decade, especially regarding the discovery of curcumin, an update of its synthesis, its pathogen specific mechanisms of action, and the pharmacological effects of its derivatives, combinations and formulations as potential antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic and antiviral agents for the treatment of various infectious diseases.
传染病是由致病性微生物引起的，如细菌、真菌、寄生虫和病毒。这些疾病大多发生在热带和亚热带气候下，是主要的健康挑战。这些疾病的病原体能够在人体宿主中繁殖，这使得它们能够持续生存。由于缺乏有效的疫苗和治疗方法，这些疾病的预防变得极其困难，而且由于其病原体对现有药物的耐药性的出现，治疗效果也变得不那么有效。目前几种可用的药物利用活性氧氮物种（RONS）产生的氧化应激作为发挥其药理作用的机制。RONS 抑制内源性抗氧化酶，最终消灭微生物群。姜黄素是一种氧化还原活性天然产物，几个世纪以来一直被用于亚洲传统医学治疗各种疾病。它以具有多种生物学和药理学活性而闻名。多年来，姜黄素因其抗炎、抗癌、抗寄生虫、抗病毒和抗菌活性而受到广泛研究，而且该化合物没有毒性。尽管其效力和良好的安全性，姜黄素仍在临床试验中用于治疗疾病，如结核病、获得性免疫缺陷综合征（AIDS）、克罗恩病、结直肠癌和多发性骨髓瘤等，因为它尚未被确认为治疗剂。这篇综述总结了过去十年的事件，特别是关于姜黄素的发现、其合成的更新、其针对病原体的作用机制以及其衍生物、组合和制剂的药理学作用，作为治疗各种传染病的潜在抗菌、抗真菌、抗寄生虫和抗病毒药物。
