Anti-inflammatory Properties of Curcumin…: A Review of Preclinical and Clinical Research

From: http://www.altmedrev.com/archive/publications/14/2/141.pdf

“…Another clinical trial was conducted to assess the efficacy of curcumin as a maintenance therapy in 82 patients with quiescent UC. Subjects were randomized to receive 1 g curcumin twice daily plus sulfasalazine or mesalamine (n=43), or placebo plus sulfasalazine or mesalamine (n=39) for six months. Subjects were assessed at baseline, every two months for six months, and again at the end of a six-month follow-up period via the Clinical Activity Index (CAI) and Endoscopic Index (EI). Only two of 43 patients (4.7%) receiving curcumin plus sulfasalazine/mesalamine experienced a relapse during the six-month study, compared to eight of 39 subjects (20.5%) in the placebo plus sulfasalazine/ mesalamine group. Subjects in the curcumin group also demonstrated significant improvement in CAI (p=0.038) and EI scores (p=0.001), indicating a de- crease in UC-associated morbidity. Interestingly, at the end of the six-month follow-up period, during which all patients took only sulfasalazine or mesalamine, eight additional patients from the curcumin group relapsed (total of 23.3%) compared to six additional patients in the placebo group (total of 35.9%). The authors concluded that curcumin plus standard therapy was more effective in maintaining remission than placebo plus standard UC treatment.”