Effects of phytosomal curcumin on anthropometric parameters, insulin resistance, cortisolemia and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease indices: a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial

Abstract

Purpose Curcumin has shown to exert a positive impact on human glucose metabolism, even if its bioavailability is usually very low. The present study aimed to explore the effect of phosphatidylserine-and piperine-containing curcumin phytosomes on a large number of metabolic parameters related to insulin resistance, in the context of a randomized double-blind placebocontrolled trial involving 80 overweight subjects with suboptimal fasting plasma glucose. Methods Subjects were randomized to be treated with indistinguishable tablets (2 per day, to be taken after dinner) containing 800 mg phytosomal curcumin (Curserin®: 200 mg curcumin, 120 mg phosphatidylserine, 480 mg phosphatidylcholine and 8 mg piperine from Piper nigrum L. dry extract) for 8 weeks. Results After 56-day treatment, the curcumin-treated group experienced a significant improvement in fasting plasma insulin (FPI), HOMA index, waist circumference, blood pressure, triglycerides (TG), HDL-C, liver transaminases, gamma-GT, index of liver steatosis and serum cortisol compared to the baseline. FPI, TG, liver transaminases, fatty liver index and serum cortisol level also significantly improved compared with the placebo-treated group. Compared to the baseline, at the end of the study placebo group experienced an improvement only in FPG and TG. ConclusionIn conclusion, the present trial shows that supplementation with a phytosomal preparation of curcumin containing phosphatidylserine and piperine could improve glycemic factors, hepatic function and serum cortisol levels in subjects with overweight and impaired fasting glucose.

The effects of curcumin supplementation on body mass index, body weight, and waist circumference in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A systematic review and dose–response meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

“…In the overall pooled estimate of eight trials (Chashmniam et al, ; Cicero et al, ; Jazayeri‐Tehrani et al, ; Mirhafez et al, ; Navekar et al, ; Panahi et al, ; Rahmani et al, ; Saadati et al, ) with 520 participants (a dose ranging from 70 to 3,000 mg/day), it was shown that curcumin supplementation was associated with a significant reduction in BMI (WMD = −0.34 kg/m 2 , 95% CI [−0.64, −0.04], p < .05) compared with the control group (Figure ). The heterogeneity among trials investigating the effect of curcumin supplementation on BMI was high ( I 2 = 63.2%, p < .01).…”

“…The results from meta‐analysis of four trials (Cicero et al, ; Jazayeri‐Tehrani et al, ; Panahi et al, ; Saadati et al, ) with 301 participants (curcumin group = 153 and control group = 148) showed that daily supplementation of curcumin had a significant reducing effect on WC (WMD = −2.12 cm, 95% CI [−3.26, −0.98], p < .001) as compared with placebo using random‐effect model (Figure ). Nonlinear dose–response meta‐analysis showed a significant effect of supplementation dosage on WC ( p nonlinearity = .005, goodness of fit = 4.13; Figure ).…”

“…In the overall pooled estimate of eight trials (Chashmniam et al, 2019;Cicero et al, 2019;Jazayeri-Tehrani et al, 2019;Mirhafez et al, 2019;Navekar et al, 2017;Panahi et al, 2017;Rahmani et al, 2016;Saadati et al, 2019) with 520 participants (a dose ranging from 70 to 3,000 mg/day), it was shown that curcumin supplementation was .304, goodness of fit = 19.00; Figure 3). Records excluded (n = 36) Non-Human (n = 19) Non-English or Non-Persian(n = 3) Reviews (n = 6) Non-exposure or outcome of interest (n = 8) Full-text articles assessed for eligibility (n = 17) Full-text articles excluded (n = 9) Articles were derived from the same randomized clinical trial and reported the same outcomes (n= 7) Trials without control group or placebo (n = 2) Studies included in qualitative synthesis (n = 8)…”

“…Seven of the included trials reported adequate details of dropouts, ranging from two to 15 (Chashmniam et al, 2019;Jazayeri-Tehrani et al, 2019;Mirhafez et al, 2019;Navekar et al, 2017;Panahi et al, 2017;Rahmani et al, 2016;Saadati et al, 2019). Seven of the trials were conducted in Iran (Chashmniam et al, 2019;Jazayeri-Tehrani et al, 2019;Mirhafez et al, 2019;Navekar et al, 2017;Panahi et al, 2017;Rahmani et al, 2016;Saadati et al, 2019) and one in Italy (Cicero et al, 2019). All studies included both women and men.…”

“…Some clinical trials reported a significant effect of curcumin consumption on indicators of body composition (Cicero et al, 2019;Jazayeri-Tehrani et al, 2019;Navekar et al, 2017;Panahi et al, 2017;Rahmani et al, 2016), whereas others reported no significant effect of curcumin intake on body mass index (BMI), body weight, or waist circumference (WC) in patients with NAFLD (Chashmniam et al, 2019;Saadati et al, 2019). A previous meta-analysis (Mousavi, Milajerdi, Varkaneh, Gorjipour, & Esmaillzadeh, 2018) found a significant effect of curcumin supplementation on BMI and body weight; however, recently published articles were not included, and five randomized controlled trials (Chashmniam et al, 2019;Cicero et al, 2019;Jazayeri-Tehrani et al, 2019;Navekar et al, 2017;Saadati et al, 2019) were missed in the abovementioned meta-analysis. Moreover, the relationship between curcumin supplementation and body composition was not investigated in a dosedependent manner in patients with NAFLD.…”