In vitro antibacterial activity of curcumin-meropenem combination against extensively drug-resistant (XDR) bacteria isolated from burn wound infections

Burn wound infection is a severe complication of thermal injury. Patients with severe burn injuries need urgent care to diminish complications after severe burns. Wound infections are commonly considered one of the most serious burn complications, particularly those that are caused by extensively drug-resistant (XDR) bacteria with few therapeutic choices. The objective of this study was to determine activity of meropenem and curcumin, alone and in combination, against antibiotic-susceptible Gram-positive, and antibiotic-resistant and antibiotic susceptible gram-negative bacteria isolated from burn wound infections. The antimicrobial activity of meropenem and curcumin was investigated alone and in combination, against antibiotic-susceptible and antibiotic-resistant bacterial (XDR) strains isolated from burn patients. In addition, the cytotoxic effect of curcumin on human's epithelial cell lines, was determined. In this study, minimum inhibitory concentrations of meropenem decreased considerably in the presence of curcumin (2- to 16-fold reductions), with synergy observed. Curcumin exerted no cytotoxic effect at concentrations 256-512 µg/ml on human epithelial cell lines. We suggest that curcumin-antibiotic combinations may provide an alternative approach for treating infections with MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) bacteria.