Curcumin review found no clear effect on inflammation markers or disease activity
Trials in rheumatoid arthritis and lupus showed no statistically significant pooled effects, with substantial variation between studies.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
This review did not find statistically significant improvements in disease activity, erythrocyte sedimentation rate or C-reactive protein with curcumin or Curcuma longa extract. The confidence intervals allowed for different possible effects, and trial results were highly inconsistent. The findings leave the value of these supplements as additions to care uncertain; they do not prove no effect.
Results differed substantially across trials, and the abstract does not report doses or treatment durations. It also does not separate disease-specific results, limiting what can be concluded for rheumatoid arthritis or lupus individually.
What researchers found
C-reactive protein
Curcumin or Curcuma longa extract versus placebo or standard therapy, pooled across trials; treatment durations were not reported. This standardized mean difference was not statistically significant.
What the pooled result means
The reported C-reactive protein effect is a standardized mean difference, not a change in laboratory units or a percentage benefit. Its confidence interval crosses zero, so the analysis did not establish a clear treatment effect.
Variation limits a simple conclusion
The review found substantial inconsistency for every pooled endpoint. Combining those results does not resolve why the trials disagreed, and the authors call for larger, better-designed studies to clarify possible use alongside existing therapy.
The original publication
Effects of curcumin and Curcuma longa extract on inflammatory biomarkers in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE): a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Liu AJ, Wu PC, Chen YP et al.
Inflamm Res · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41372521
- Record checked
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