Antioxidant and antimicrobial efficiency of curcumin nanoparticles against pathogenic microorganisms

Curcumin (Cur) is a pivotal compound widely used in pharmaceutical and medical applications such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory. However, some limitations faced its application in different purposes owing to its insolubility, low bioavailability, and fast degradation. These limitations can be overcome by the formulation of Cur nanoparticles (Cur-NPs) to boost its bioactivity and enhance its solubility. This study aimed to synthesize and characterize Cur-NPs and evaluate the antioxidant activity and antimicrobial efficiency against different pathogenic microorganisms. Cur-NPs were prepared, characterized and the antimicrobial efficiency was evaluated against E. coli, S. typhimurium, and Y. enterocolitica (Gram-negative), S. aureus, B. cereus (Gram-positive), and the pathogenic fungi (Aspergillus niger, A flavus, Penicillium expansum, and Candida albicans). The synthesized Cur-NPs showed a rounded shape with 44 +/- 8 nm average size and 43 +/- 4 mV.-potential. Cur-NPs showed potent antioxidant (IC50 of 1550 mu g/ml) and antimicrobial properties against the tested bacteria and fungi in a dose-dependent manner. It could be concluded that Cur-NPs are a promising candidate to be used as an antimicrobial in food preservation, or medical and pharmaceutical applications to replace antibiotics.