This article concludes that curcumin supplements may exert anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties by reducing interleukin-6. Interleukin-6 is one of the inflammatory chemicals that has been associated with low back pain, so next time you have back pain, try taking curcumin. For better absorption of curcumin, try a product that comes with black pepper (piperine), whey protein, phospholipids (soy lecithin), or fenugreek. ~ Dr. Broussard
The effects of curcumin-containing supplements on biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Phytother Res. 2019 Feb;33(2):253-262. doi: 10.1002/ptr.6226. Epub 2018 Nov 7.
Tabrizi R1, Vakili S2, Akbari M1, Mirhosseini N3, Lankarani KB1, Rahimi M4, Mobini M5, Jafarnejad S6, Vahedpoor Z7, Asemi Z6.
Abstract
Besides other benefits, curcumin is getting more recognized for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, highlighting the importance of curcumin application for chronic disease prevention. This systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted to assess the influence of curcumin-containing supplements on biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress. MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched till January 2018 for eligible studies. The selected studies were evaluated for their quality using the Cochrane risk of bias tool and relevant data were extracted from included studies. Data were pooled using the inverse variance method and expressed as standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Fifteen RCTs were included in the final analysis. The meta-analysis indicated that curcumin supplementation significantly decreased interleukin 6 (IL-6) (SMD -2.08; 95% CI [-3.90, -0.25]; p = 0.02), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (SMD -0.65; 95% CI [-1.20, -0.10], p = 0.02), and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations (SMD -3.14; 95% CI [-4.76, -1.53], p < 0.001). Though, curcumin supplementation had no significant effect on tumor necrosis factor-alpha (SMD -1.62; 95% CI [-3.60, 0.36]; p = 0.10) and superoxide dismutase levels (SMD 0.34; 95% CI [-1.06, 1.74], p = 0.63). Overall, this meta-analysis suggests that taking curcumin-containing supplements may exert anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties through a significant reduction in IL-6, hs-CRP, and MDA levels.
© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
KEYWORDS:
curcumin; inflammation; meta-analysis; oxidative stress
PMID: 30402990 DOI: 10.1002/ptr.6226
[Indexed for MEDLINE]