Curcuma longa (turmeric) an antifungal treatment for dermatophytosis: a systematic review

An abstract of the research paper presented to Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, in partial requirement for the course DVT55204 Research Project, for the completion of the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. Curcuma longa, or turmeric, is a rhizomatous plant native to South Asia and can be grown in diverse tropical conditions. The main bioactive compounds of turmeric are curcumin, turmeric oil and methanol. Dermatophytosis is a superficial fungal infection by dermatophytes that can affect the skin, hair and nail. Dermatophytes are divided into three genera; Trichophyton spp., Microsporum spp., and Epidermophyton spp.. There are various home remedies regarding the use of turmeric to treat fungal infections in pets. The widespread use and turmeric accessibility to the public prompt the need for re-evaluation of the existing understanding regarding the use of turmeric in ethnoveterinary medicine. There is also limited research on the efficacy of turmeric specifically against zoonotic dermatophytes that can
be used as an evidence-based guideline. This systematic review is conducted to identify the use and efficacy of turmeric bioactive compounds in treating dermatophytosis by determining its recommended preparation and the most effective type of bioactive compound. Thus, a total of
3515 publications published between the year 2012-2022 were extracted from four databases: Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect and Scopus using different search strategies. A total of nine (9) studies met the eligibility criteria after sequential screening. Ethanolic turmeric extract,
curcumin and turmeric oil were found to exhibit zone of inhibition on the investigated dermatophytes, M. canis, M. gypseum and T. mentagrophytes, and has comparable minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values to common antifungal drug. Photoactivation and combination with antifungal medication were found to be beneficial due to increased antifungal activity.
Keywords: Curcuma longa, curcumin, turmeric, antifungal, dermatophytes, Microsporum canis, Microsporum gypseum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes