Objectives: We investigated the effect of curcumin (CMN) in the treatment of experimentally induced acute otitis media (AOM) in rats.
Method: Thirty-two Sprague-Dawley female rats were used, yielding 64 temporal bones. Group 1 was the control group. For groups 2 to 4, AOM was induced experimentally, and saline, antibiotics (sulbactam-ampicillin), or CMN were administered for 14 days to groups 2, 3, and 4, respectively. During the histological examination, thickening of the tympanic membrane, damage to the epithelium, inflammation, and sclerosis were evaluated.
Results: The AOM+antibiotic and AOM+CMN groups exhibited reduced histological damage compared with the AOM+saline group. No significant differences in thickening of the tympanic membrane or damage to the epithelium or inflammation were observed between the AOM+antibiotic and the AOM+CMN groups. However, the sclerosis values of the AOM+CMN group were significantly lower than those of the AOM+antibiotic group.
Conclusion: CMN treatment resulted in similar effects on the experimentally induced AOM model as did the antibiotic treatment. The efficacy of this treatment may be related to its effects on the production of various inflammatory cytokines. In light of the worldwide increase in antibiotic resistance and the mild side effects of CMN, we suggest that CMN therapy may be a promising option in AOM treatment.
Keywords: antibiotic; curcumin; experimentally induced acute otitis media; histological examination; rats.