Background: Recurrence remains a great challenge for pterygium management. Recurrence pterygium is also known to be more difficult to manage. Thus, this study focuses on recurrence prevention by exploring the potential of curcumin through its anti-angiogenesis properties. Methods: An experimental study was performed using cultured Human Pterygium Fibroblast (HPF). HPF was cultured to 90% confluency rate on cell culture and divided into three groups. Control group as a negative control, curcumin 100 ?mol/L and curcumin 200 ?mol/L were applied to each group of cell cultures. After 48 hours, VEGF expression was analyzed using immunofluorescence staining and fluorescein microscope, then the intensity was measured using ImageJ software. Results: Curcumin successfully decreases VEGF expression with a mean in control group 88.61 ?20.05 pixels; curcumin 100 ?mol/L 52.64 ?2.74 pixels; curcumin 200 ?mol/L 36.30 ?2.74 pixels on HPF. The Tukey HSD posthoc test found significant decrease between control group and each treatment group (p=0.000, p=0.000, and p=0.004; respectively) Conclusions: In conclusion, Curcumin has a potential effect on reducing VEGF expression in human pterygium fibroblast.

VEGF

Pterygium

Human Pterygium Fibroblast

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor

VEGF