Research Shows Low Dose Curcumin Improves Arthritis

July 27, 2010 Comments Posted in News, Topics, Bone/Joint Health, Bone/Joint Health, Joint Health, Botanicals, Curcumin, Indena, Inflammation, Research Print

MILAN, Italy—Scientists have found a proprietary curcumin extract may relieve pain and increase mobility in osteoarthritis (OA) patients at a dose much lower than prior studies on similar endpoints. Curcumin is the principal derivative of the popular Indian spice turmeric, which is a member of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae). The other two derivatives are desmethoxycurcumin and bis-desmethoxycurcumin. The curcuminoids are polyphenols and are responsible for the yellow color of turmeric Published in the June issue of Panminerva Medica (2010 June;52(2 Suppl 1):55-62), the trial involved OA given a combination of curcumin with soy phosphatidylcholine (Meriva®, from Indena SpA) at a dosage of 200 mg/d, compared to up t 8 g/d used in prior, otherwise comparable trials. Phosphatidylcholines is a member of the Lecithin group of yellow-brownish fatty substances occurring in animal and plant tissues

The investigation was undertaken by Indena scientists in conjunction with scientists from Chieti-Pescara University, Pescara, and Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, both in Italy. The researchers gauged OA in 50 patients using WOMAC (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities) scores. Mobility was evaluated using walking performance (treadmill), and C-reactive protein (CRP) was measured to assess inflammatory status.

Global WOMAC score decreased by 58 percent after three months of treatment, while walking distance in the treadmill test was prolonged from 76 m to 332 m at the same interval; likewise, CRP levels decreased from 168 (± 18) to 11.3 (±. 4.1) mg/L in the sub-population with high CRP. The control group experienced only a modest 2-percent increase in WOMAC score, only a slight improvement in mobility (from 82 m to 129 m in the treadmill test), and a modest drop in CRP, from 175 ± 12.3 to 112 ± 22.2 mg/L ). The treatment costs (use of anti-inflammatory drugs, treatment and hospitalization) were reduced significantly in the treatment group.

The researchers concluded Meriva® is “clinically effective in the management and treatment of osteoarthritis,” and “the increased stability and better absorption of curcumin induced with phospholipids have clinical relevance, setting the stage for larger and more prolonged studies.”

According to Indena, this study represents the first time curcumin showed clinical capacity or power to produce a desired effect at low and realistic dosages, a benefit the company attributed to the phospolipid formulation obtained with the Phytosome® technology. This special type of complexity had previously been shown to improve the stability and absorption of curcumin also in humans.

“Over 2,500 preclinical investigations have shown a potential role for curcumin in the treatment of a wide array of diseases, especially of the chronic-inflammatory type,” said Giovanni Appendino, professor of organic chemistry at the University of Eastern Piedmont, Novara, and scientific adviser for Indena. “However, the low water solubility of curcumin, its chemical instability at intestinal pH values, and its extremely poor oral bio-availability have so far hampered all attempts of clinical developments. Today, those problems have been largely overcome by phospholipid complexity offering improved stability and oral absorption in comparison with un-complexed curcumin.”