Synergistic Activity of Curcumin Against the Biofilm forming Staphylococcus aureus Isolated from Poultry Chicken

Abstract

The synergistic effects of curcumin on strain of biofilm-producing Staphylococcus aureus isolates from poultry chickens are examined in this study. The study employs a combination of microbiological techniques to assess the ability of curcumin to inhibit biofilm formation and degrade established biofilm. Biofilm are a major problem in both veterinary and clinical contexts because they cause recurring infections and are resistant to antibiotic therapy. The study utilizes a range of microbiological assays to determine the anti-biofilm activity and the disruption of mature biofilms by curcumin. Findings show that curcumin has a significant inhibitory action on the growth and biofilm formation of Staphylococcus aureus, especially when combined with conventional antibiotics. These results suggest that curcumin could be a useful complement to conventional antibiotic therapy for managing biofilm infections in poultry, potentially resulting in improved animal health and safer meat. Certainly, there is a clear need for further study on how curcumin functions and how to employ it in the clinic.More research is needed to understand how curcumin does this and how to use it in real-world situations.

Introduction

Antimicrobials, including antibiotics, inhibit bacterial growth but overuse—especially in humans and animal feed—has led to widespread antibiotic resistance, posing a major global health threat. Resistant bacteria like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), commonly found in poultry, cause infections that are difficult to treat and contribute to high mortality rates.

Staphylococcus aureus forms complex biofilms—communities of bacteria encased in a protective matrix—that enhance survival under hostile conditions and increase resistance to antibiotics and host defenses. MRSA strains often resist multiple antibiotic classes, complicating treatment efforts.

Natural compounds like curcumin, a bioactive pigment from turmeric, show promising antimicrobial and antibiofilm properties. Curcumin inhibits S. aureus biofilm formation at concentrations lower than those required to kill bacteria, mainly by disrupting bacterial adhesion, biofilm structure, and gene expression related to quorum sensing. It can also enhance antibiotic effectiveness, reduce toxicity, and lower the likelihood of resistance development.

Biofilms are medically significant because they protect bacteria, making infections persistent and hard to eradicate. Understanding biofilm formation and mechanisms of curcumin’s action can help develop improved strategies to combat resistant bacterial infections, especially in food-producing animals like poultry, thereby reducing public health risks.

The study aims to evaluate the combined effects of curcumin and antibiotics against S. aureus biofilms isolated from poultry, using various microbiological and imaging techniques.

Conclusion

In this study shows that the combined use of CCM and Gentamicin showed synergistically inhibiting bio-film formation among Staphylococcus aureus. At sub-MICs, CCM inhibits QS and the combined action of gentamicin and curcumin was also noticeable in QS inhibition. It was observed that CCM, a QS inhibitor enhances the efficacy of antibiotic therapy in combination therapy, more effectively disrupting QS and preventing biofilm formation. Future research is needed to optimize the molecular mechanisms in the inhibition of bio-film formation exhibited by the synergistic action of Curcumin(CCM) and Gentamicin.

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Copyright © 2025 Sri Ragav P, Vanitha Nagaraj. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.