Effects of curcumin supplementation on inflammatory biomarkers in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Ulcerative colitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

• Published in: Complementary therapies in medicine 2021-09, Vol.61, p.102773-102773, Article 102773
• Main Authors: Ebrahimzadeh, Armin, Abbasi, Fatemeh, Ebrahimzadeh, Anahita, Jibril, Aliyu Tijani, Milajerdi, Alireza
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Arthritis; Arthritis, Rheumatoid - drug therapy; Autoimmune disease; Autoimmune diseases; Biomarkers; Clinical trials; Colitis, Ulcerative - drug therapy; Curcumin; Curcumin - therapeutic use; Cytokine; Cytokines; Dietary Supplements; Humans; Inflammation; Inflammatory bowel disease; Inflammatory bowel diseases; Lupus; Meta-analysis; Patients; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Rheumatoid arthritis; Search engines; Subgroups; Supplements; Systematic review; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Ulcerative colitis; Womens health
• ISSN: 0965-2299; 1873-6963
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2021.102773

•Curcumin supplements in doses of 250−1500 mg/day over 8–12 weeks was associated with decreases in ESR in adult patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis in comparison with the control group.•Curcumin supplements in doses of 250−1500 mg/day over 8–12 weeks was associated with decreases in CRP in adult patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis in comparison with the control group.•All subgroup analyses showed significant changes in ESR and CRP although curcumin supplements in doses of 250−1500 mg/day over 8–12 weeks was more associated with decreases in ESR and CRP in younger patients (≤40 years) with rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis in comparison with the control group.•Furthermore, more duration (> 8 weeks) and more dosage of curcumin (more than 500 mg) is more related to reduction in ESR and CRP in adult patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis in comparison with the control group. Although previous studies have examined the impact of curcumin supplementation on cytokine levels in patients with autoimmune disorders, we were unable to find a systematic review of the effect of curcumin supplementation on inflammatory biomarkers such as CRP and ESR in patients with rheumatoid arthritis or ulcerative colitis; therefore we conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis. Relevant studies published from inception to December 2020 were systematically searched through the PubMed, SCOPUS, and google scholar databases. We conducted our systematic review and meta-analysis according to the 2020 PRISMA guidelines. The quality of the papers were assessed by using the Cochrane Collaboration's risk of bias tool. Included studies were randomized clinical trials on the effects of supplementation with curcumin or its derivative on inflammatory factors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis. Pooled effect sizes were calculated using a random-effects model and reported as the weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95 % CI. In all, six studies met the inclusion criteria for this study. Curcumin supplementation in doses of 250−1500 mg/day over 8–12 weeks was observed to be associated with decreases in CRP and ESR in adult patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis in comparison with the control group (WMD: −0.42; 95 % CI: −0.59, −0.26, I2 = 94.3 %; WMD: −55.96; 95 % CI: −93.74, −18.17, I2 = 99.7 %, respectively). Significant findings were also observed based on subgroup analyses by