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

Study answer

What this study found

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.

Study & population

Systematic review and meta-analysis of 29 randomized controlled trials involving 2396 participants with arthritis.

Intervention

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.

Key limitation

Interpretation is limited by the low quality and small number of randomized trials, which reduces certainty in the pooled findings.

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Original abstract