Efficacy of Curcuma longa in relieving pain symptoms of knee osteoarthritis patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials
What this study found
Curcuma longa extract was associated with significant pain relief and functional improvement in knee osteoarthritis compared with placebo. For function, efficacy was not inferior to NSAIDs in the included trials. Safety was favorable, with no serious adverse events reported and only some mild adverse events in a minority of participants. The main limitations were substantial between-study heterogeneity and short follow-up, which limits conclusions about long-term benefit and optimal dosing.
- Study & population
- This was a systematic review and meta-analysis of 10 randomized controlled trials in adults with knee osteoarthritis from Australia, Iran, India, Japan, Belgium, and Brazil.
- Intervention
- Oral Curcuma longa extract was evaluated in 10 randomized trials, with doses ranging from 80 mg QID to 540 mg BID, most commonly 500 mg BID.
- Key limitation
- The evidence base was limited by substantial heterogeneity across trials, small and variable active-arm sample sizes, and short follow-up durations of 4 to 6 weeks in many studies.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
Objective Osteoarthritis (OA), particularly knee OA, affects 24% of adults and is a significant cause of disability. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly used but have many adverse effects. Antioxidant and anti-iflammatory properties of Curcuma longa might decrease pain thus improving joint function. Methods This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on Curcuma longa efficacy for knee OA. We reported mean differences (MD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for continuous outcomes and evaluated Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) total score over 4 to 6 weeks for treatment effects. Results Ten RCTs with 786 patients were included. Curcuma longa significantly improved VAS for pain than placebo (MD 18.25, 95% CI 7.79 to 28.72, p=0.0006). It was not inferior to NSAIDs in WOMAC total score improvement (MD –11.99, 95% CI –39.21 to 15.23, p=0.39). Both dosages (<1,000 and ≥1,000 mg/day) of Curcuma longa demonstrated similar improvement in VAS for pain compared to placebo (MD 27.02, 95% CI 1.45 to 52.60, p=0.04; MD 21.48, 95% CI 1.78 to 41.18, p=0.03). Conclusion Curcuma longa benefits knee OA pain and function, being more effective than placebo and comparable to NSAIDs. Despite positive results, limitation and heterogeneity of the studies necessitates further research to explore optimal dosages and administration methods of Curcuma longa as therapeutic option for knee OA.