Curcuma longa extract improves serum inflammatory markers and mental health in healthy participants who are overweight: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

• Published in: Nutrition journal Vol. 20; no. 1; p. 91
• Main Authors: Uchio, Ryusei, Kawasaki, Kengo, Okuda-Hanafusa, Chinatsu, Saji, Ryosuke, Muroyama, Koutarou, Murosaki, Shinji, Yamamoto, Yoshihiro, Hirose, Yoshitaka
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BioMed Central 13.11.2021; BioMed Central Ltd; BMC
• Subjects: Affective disorders; Alzheimer's disease; analysis of variance; anti-inflammatory activity; Biochemistry; Biological effects; Bisacurone; Blood & organ donations; blood serum; Body mass index; Body mass index (BMI); Body weight; C-reactive protein; C-reactive protein (CRP); Carbon dioxide; Care and treatment; Cell adhesion & migration; Chemical properties; Chronic inflammation; Clinical Nutrition; complement; Complications and side effects; Curcuma longa; Cytokines; Double-blind studies; emotions; Food; Health aspects; Health Promotion and Disease Prevention; health surveys; Hematology; Hepatitis; Inflammation; Inflammatory diseases; Materia medica, Vegetable; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental health; Metabolism; Mood; Natural & organic foods; nutrition; Obesity; Overweight; Physiology; Placebos; Plant extracts; Questionnaires; Risk factors; Serum levels; t-test; Turmeric; Turmeric (Curcuma longa); Turmeronol; Urinalysis; Variance analysis; Japan; Turmeric; Bisacurone; Turmeronol; Chronic inflammation; Complement component 3 (C3); Body mass index (BMI); ); C-reactive protein (CRP); 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36); Profile of mood states (POMS)
• ISSN: 1475-2891; 1475-2891
• DOI: 10.1186/s12937-021-00748-8

Background The dietary spice Curcuma longa , also known as turmeric, has various biological effects. Both a water extract and a supercritical carbon dioxide extract of C. longa showed anti-inflammatory activities in animal studies. However, the anti-inflammatory effect in humans of a mixture of these two C. longa extracts (CLE) is poorly understood. Therefore, we investigated the effect of CLE containing anti-inflammatory turmeronols on chronic inflammation and general health. Methods We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in healthy subjects aged 50 to 69 years with overweight. Participants took two capsules containing CLE (CLE group, n  = 45) or two placebo capsules (placebo group, n = 45) daily for 12 weeks, and serum inflammatory markers were measured. Participants also completed two questionnaires: the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) scale. Treatment effects were analyzed by two way analysis of variance followed by a t test (significance level, p  <  0.05). Results After the intervention, the CLE group had a significantly lower body weight (p <  0.05) and body mass index ( p  < 0.05) than the placebo group and significantly lower serum levels of C-reactive protein ( p  < 0.05) and complement component 3 ( p  < 0.05). In addition, the CLE group showed significant improvement of the MOS SF-36 mental health score ( p  < 0.05) and POMS anger-hostility score (p < 0.05). Conclusion CLE may ameliorate chronic low-grade inflammation and thus help to improve mental health and mood disturbance. Trial registration UMIN-CTR, UMIN000037370. Registered 14 July 2019, https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000042607