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Gokhan Emiroglu [1] and Zerrin Ozergin Coskun [1] and Yildiray Kalkan [2] and Ozlem Celebi Erdivanli [1] and Levent Tumkaya [2] and Suat Terzi [1] and Abdulkadir Özgür [1] and Munir Demirci [1] and Engin Dursun [1]

Academic Editor: Maria Camilla Bergonzi

1, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University Medical Faculty, Rize, Turkey, erdogan.edu.tr

2, Department of Histology and Embryology, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University Medical Faculty, Rize, Turkey, erdogan.edu.tr

Received Mar 6, 2017; Revised Jun 7, 2017; Accepted Jul 9, 2017

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

1. Introduction

Curcuma longa (turmeric) is a plant of the ginger family and has been used for many years in both India and China as both a spice and a traditional medicine. In India, turmeric has been widely used to treat biliary and hepatic diseases, coughs, diabetic ulcers, and rheumatic conditions. Curcumin is the most active form of the three different curcumoid extracts in the roots of plants [1]. Curcumin is insoluble in water but soluble in oil and ethanol. The chemical structure of curcumin (diferuloylmethane) was elucidated by Milobedska et al. in 1910. Curcumin has exerted antioxidant, antiaging, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, wound healing, antitumoral, and antipsoriatic effects in various studies [1–3]. However, the effect of curcumin on nasal mucosal wounds has not yet been studied.

The nose is the first organ of the respiratory system, filtering, warming, and moistening inhaled air. The nose is also an olfactory organ and plays various roles in resonation, middle ear ventilation, drainage of the paranasal sinuses, sneezing, heat regulation, and the nasopulmonary reflexes. In such contexts, nasal mucosal health is key. The nasal respiratory mucosa is lined with ciliary, pseudostratified, columnar epithelial cells, and mucus-secreting goblet cells interspersed with ciliary cells [4].

Nasal mucosal wounding may develop after infection, accidents, and iatrogenically (septum/sinus surgeries). Wound healing after such injury is essential for maintenance of nasal ventilation and other functions. Wound healing is a complex process featuring a balance between inflammation, reepithelization, and matrix deposition; these processes are regulated by cytokines and growth factors released from leucocytes, fibroblasts, and epithelial cells [5]. Nasal mucosal trauma is associated with...

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