Abstract: Objective To study the effect of low concentration curcumin on reactive oxygen species(ROS) production and apoptosis in lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-activated mice macrophages.Methods Mice macrophage RAW264.7 cells were cultured in vitro and administered to LPS at different dosages(0, 0.5, 2, and 8 μg/mL)with or without low dose curcumin(7.5 μmol/L).ROS, mitochondrial membrane potential(MMP), and apoptosis were measured with flow cytometry.Results ROS in RAW264.7 cells increased with the concentration of LPS.Higher concentration of LPS induced cells apoptosis and impeded the function of mitochondria.Compared with the control group, after curcumin treatment, intracellular ROS significantly decreased from 8.1±0.8 to 6.6±1.3(P<0.05).Compared with LPS treatment alone, the intracellular ROS significantly decreased from 61.9±5.3 to 47.9±3.8 after curcumin and LPS treatment(P<0.05).Low concentrations of curcumin had no significant effect on MMP in RAW264.7 cells, but intracellular MMP decreased significantly from 37.9±4.7 to 33.1±3.4 after curcumin and LPS treatment compared with LPS treatment alone(P<0.05).Low dose curcumin treatment alone did not cause significant apoptosis or necrosis of RAW264.7 cells without LPS activation, but significantly reduced the percentage of apoptosis or necrosis of the cells with LPS activation(P<0.05).Conclusion Low dose curcumin reduces ROS production in LPS-activated mice macrophages.