Combined Therapeutic Potential of Probiotic Clostridium butyricum and Curcuma longa against Salmonella Infection

Salmonella is the leading cause of diarrhoeal diseases, with its incidence and severity having increased significantly. Salmonellosis is one of the most common and widely distributed foodborne diseases, resulting in thousands of deaths. The resistance of Salmonella to a variety of antibiotics has become an important public health problem throughout the world. Therefore, it is imperative to find novel antimicrobial compounds from natural sources. To date, no study has examined the synergistic effects of Clostridium butyricum probiotics and Curcuma longa against Salmonella infection. Hence, this study investigates the combined effect of the Clostridium butyricum probiotic cell-free supernatant and the crude extract of Curcuma longa plant powder (Turmeric) against Salmonella typhi. A suspension of S. typhi (10⁸ and 10⁹ CFU/ml) and 500 mg of C. longa (Turmeric) powder was used for oral administration for five groups of BALb/C mice, five per cage. Group 1 (positive control) received Salmonella only. Group 2 (negative control) received nothing. Group 3 received Salmonella plus chemical treatment. Group 4 received Levofloxacin plus natural treatment (probiotic + Curcuma longa). Group 5 received natural treatment only. Intestinal viable counts of S. typhi and probiotics were determined. Histopathological evaluation was performed by dissecting the liver and intestine. Additionally, an immunological study was conducted by measuring interleukin-10 and interferon-γ in the blood of the tested mice. The results showed that the combination of cell-free supernatant of Clostridium butyricum and C. longa extract exhibited enhanced inhibitory effects on S. typhi growth compared to either treatment alone. Also, the enhanced effect in vivo decreased the number of S. typhi and increased the animal body weight. Furthermore, the combinatorial effect demonstrated a reduction in tissues in the livers and intestinal tissues of the tested animals. Immunologically, interleukin-10 increased while interferon-γ levels decreased in groups receiving probiotics with C. longa. The current study demonstrates that probiotic Clostridium and C. longa enhance tissue repair and ameliorate infection-induced damage in mice. These findings highlight the potential of probiotic Clostridium butyricum and C. longa as immune modulators and alternative therapeutic agents, though further mechanistic and clinical studies are required to confirm their applicability.