Efficacy and Safety of Curcumin and Curcuma longa Extract in the Treatment of Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trial

Systematic review and meta-analysis of 29 randomized controlled trials involving 2396 participants with arthritis. The population included adults and children with rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and gout or hyperuricemia from multiple countries, with curcumin or Curcuma longa-based interventions compared with control treatments.

Across the included randomized trials, the active regimens were curcumin, curcuminoids, Curcuma longa extract, and related curcumin formulations given orally, topically, or as adjuncts to standard care. Doses and durations varied widely by study, ranging from low-dose formulations such as 40 mg daily to 2000 mg daily, with treatment periods from 4 weeks to 9 months; several trials tested curcumin alongside diclofenac, methotrexate, glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, ibuprofen, or physical therapy.

Overall, curcumin and Curcuma longa extract appeared to improve arthritis symptoms and inflammatory measures and were generally safe. The evidence base was modest in size but broad, covering 29 RCTs and 2396 participants across 5 arthritis conditions. Authors concluded that the supplements may be beneficial, but the findings are not definitive because the underlying trials were small and of low quality, and larger high-quality multicenter RCTs are still needed.

Interpretation is limited by the low quality and small number of randomized trials, which reduces certainty in the pooled findings. The evidence is also heterogeneous because it combines different arthritis types, formulations, doses, durations, and comparator regimens, and many studies were short term.