Blood neutrophils, when exposed to appropriate stimuli, aggregate, degranulate and generate superoxide anion. Curcumin, a non-steroidal antiinflammatory agent, modulated these functions, depending upon the kind of stimulus used. It inhibited monkey neutrophil aggregation induced by chemotactic peptide fmlp and zymosan activated plasma (ZAP) but did not affect that induced by serum treated zymosan (STZ) and arachidonic acid (AA). Generation of O2- radical was inhibited by curcumin, when cells were stimulated by AA, STZ and fmlp. Curcumin inhibited the release of myeloperoxidase, an azurophilic granule marker enzyme. Release of lysozyme was less susceptible to inhibition by curcumin. The results suggest that curcumin interferes with neutrophil responses to various physiological stimuli and a part of its antiinflammatory action is mediated via inhibition of neutrophil function. Inhibition of neutrophil function by curcumin appears to be mediated via calcium dependent mechanisms.