This study suggested that curcumin (the active ingredient in turmeric root) may help to reduce inflammation and pain in arthritis patients, thereby, reducing the amount of arthritis medicine they have to take. In this study, they used C3 Complex, 1,500 mg, 3x/day for 6 weeks. ~ Dr. Broussard
On the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis (WOMAC) pain index, patients randomized to receive curcuminoids had baseline scores of 9.9, which decreased to 6.1 after 6 weeks of treatment, according to Ali-Reza Rahimnia, MD, of Baqiyatallah University in Tehran, and colleagues.
In contrast, those given placebo had scores of 10.5 at baseline and 9.4 at 6 weeks (P<0.001 versus the active treatment), the researchers reported online in Phytotherapy Research.
“In recent years, there has been a surge of interest to find herbal remedies for OA owing to the strong ethnobotanical evidence and identified analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and muscle relaxant properties for such therapies,” they wrote.
Turmeric has been widely used for various inflammatory conditions in traditional Asian medicine, and while considerable research into its bioactive properties exists, few clinical studies have been done.
So Rahimnia and colleagues enrolled 40 patients who met the clinical and radiologic American College of Rheumatology criteria for mild-to-moderate bilateral knee OA.
More than three-quarters were women. Mean age was 57 and mean body mass index was 29.
The treatment consisted of a proprietary formulation of curcuminoids (C3 Complex) 1,500 mg per day or placebo, and participants were allowed to use naproxen if necessary.
On the WOMAC physical function subscale, scores in the active treatment group decreased from 31.8 to 18.7, while the placebo group had declines of only 32.4 to 30.4 (P<0.001).
The active treatment group also had significant decreases on the WOMAC global score, from 42.4 to 25, compared with 44.6 to 40.6 in the placebo group (P=0.001).
Additional significant declines were seen on a visual analog scale rating of pain and on Lequesne’s pain functional index (P<0.001 for both), and by the end of the trial 84% of patients receiving curcuminoids had reduced their use of naproxen compared with 19% of those on placebo (P<0.001).
The only adverse events were mild gastrointestinal symptoms reported by four patients in the placebo group and seven patients receiving the active treatment.
“A plausible mechanism for the protective effects of curcuminoids against OA is the potential anti-inflammatory effects of this phytopharmaceutical,” the researchers observed.
Specifically, they explained, curcuminoids inhibit NF-kappa-B, thereby suppressing various mediators of inflammation such as cyclooxygenase-II, and also inhibit the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF).
These compounds also are free radical scavengers and can alleviate oxidative stress.
The researchers called for further studies to determine whether curcuminoids “can modify OA through analgesic-independent mechanisms, e.g., interaction with oxidative and inflammatory pathways and modulation of circulating as well as synovial fluid concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines.”
Limitations of the study included its small number of patients and short duration.
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