ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Pharmacology of Infectious Diseases
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1651875
The Role of Curcumin in Modulating Nutritional Status and Susceptibility to Mycoplasma pneumoniae Infection in Children
Provisionally accepted
- Beijing Luhe Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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Background: Mycoplasma pneumoniae remains a leading cause of pediatric respiratory infections, often resulting in prolonged symptoms, hospitalization, and systemic inflammation. Curcumin has been proposed as an adjunctive therapy due to its anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties. This study retrospectively evaluated the association between adjunctive curcumin supplementation and clinical, immunological, and nutritional outcomes in children with confirmed M. pneumoniae infection. Methods: We performed a retrospective observational study of children aged 1–12 years at Beijing Luhe Hospital (September 2023–May 2024). Based on charted treatment, 160 patients were categorized into a curcumin-supplemented group (n=80; standardized 95% curcuminoids, 20 mg/kg/day, with antibiotics) or a control group (n=80; antibiotics alone). Outcomes included duration of fever/cough, hospitalization, severe complications, inflammatory markers—C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)—pathogen-specific antibodies, and nutritional indices (body mass index [BMI], hemoglobin, serum albumin). Adverse events (AEs) were summarized. Results: Baseline characteristics were comparable between groups (all p>0.05). The curcumin group had shorter fever (3.2 ± 1.1 vs 4.5 ± 1.3 days, p=0.01) and cough durations (5.4 ± 2.0 vs 7.1 ± 2.5 days, p=0.02), lower hospitalization rates (1.25% vs 10.0%, p=0.02), and fewer severe complications (2.5% vs 12.5%, p=0.03). Greater reductions were observed in CRP (–9.6 ± 5.1 vs –1.8 ± 4.7 mg/L, p=0.011), IL-6 (–15.1 ± 6.3 vs –2.5 ± 5.8 pg/mL, p=0.01), and TNF-α (–9.6 ± 5.4 vs –1.7 ± 5.1 pg/mL, p=0.03), with a larger increase in M. pneumoniae-specific antibodies (+30 ± 15 vs +5 ± 12 AU/mL, p=0.001). Antibiotic use (6.5 ± 1.8 vs 7.8 ± 2.0 days, p=0.014) and total recovery time (8.2 ± 2.1 vs 10.5 ± 2.5 days, p=0.001) were shorter in the curcumin group. Nutritional indices showed improvement in hemoglobin (p = 0.01) and serum albumin (p = 0.02), while BMI showed a non-significant increase (p = 0.368). AE incidence was low and similar (6.3% vs 8.8%, p=0.55). In multivariable regression, curcumin remained independently associated with shorter recovery (β = –1.2, p=0.001). Conclusion: Curcumin might be a safe and well-tolerated adjunct to standard antibiotic therapy in children with M. pneumoniae infections, potentially improving clinical outcomes, reducing inflammation, and supporting nutritional status.
Keywords: Antibiotic therapy, Curcumin, Immunomodulatory effects, inflammatorycytokines, Mycoplasma pneumoniae
Received: 22 Jun 2025; Accepted: 28 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liu, Liu, Yang and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Li-Hua Li, Beijing Luhe Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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