Special Turmeric Extract Benefits Osteoarthritis Patients
A new clinical trial supports the
benefits to people with osteoarthritis who used a unique extract of turmeric (Curcuma
longa).1 Scientists in Italy have studied
the pain-relief, increased flexibility, and other effects of a special,
patented extract of the roots of turmeric, the flavorful spice that has been
used for centuries as a traditional remedy. Turmeric formulations have shown a
wide range of safety and significant scientific and clinical benefits in recent
animal research and human clinical trials.2,3The
characteristic yellow color of turmeric, which is found in many yellow mustards
and yellow curry preparations, derives from compounds known collectively as
curcuminoids, whose most abundant member is curcumin. Curcumin is difficult to
absorb into the human bloodstream from the gastrointestinal tract when consumed
orally.4 Researchers in
Italy selected 50 patients with X-ray diagnosed osteoarthritis in either one or
both knees to evaluate if the special turmeric formulation called Meriva® could
provide more benefits to their standard medical therapy. In this trial, the
patients were split into two groups: the first one received standard medical
treatment as determined by patients’ physicians, while patients in the second
group added the special curcumin extract to their standard medical treatment. After
90 days, the following benefits were observed: Compared
to the controls, patients in the Meriva group experienced a 58 percent decrease
in their overall pain, stiffness and physical functionality as measured by the
widely used medical scoring method developed by Western Ontario and McMaster Universities
(WOMAC). In addition, the Social and Emotional Index (SEI) score resulted in a
greater than 300 percent improvement in Meriva patients compared to patients
not taking the curcumin extract. Blood tests indicated that in patients having
elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a 16-fold decrease of this
inflammation marker was observed in the Meriva group. Finally, the subjects
using Meriva were able to reduce their reliance on standard painkillers
(NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) by 63 percent compared to
patients on conventional medical therapy alone. Taken together, these data show
that Meriva turmeric extract improves the
clinical benefit of a standard NSAIDs-based treatment of osteoarthritis, making
it possible for patients to decrease their medication load and increase its
efficacy. Consistent with data from other human studies on various types
of turmeric extracts, Meriva demonstrated a high degree of safety without
producing any serious adverse side effects. “This is great news for people
who suffer from osteoarthritis and the physicians who treat them,” said Mark
Blumenthal, Founder and Executive Director of the nonprofit American Botanical
Council, an independent herbal medicine research and education organization in
Austin, Texas. “Turmeric has long been known to
have anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties and this trial, on this
special turmeric extract, is another important step towards validating the
curcumin in turmeric as an increasingly popular herbal dietary supplement. When
one considers the overall safety of turmeric extract and curcumin, especially
compared to some of the pharmaceutical drugs which have had to be removed from
the market due to serious safety concerns, the growing clinical evidence for
the use of turmeric extract is compelling,” he added. The authors of
this trial write that “curcumin is one of the most extensively investigated products of
natural origin. Its broad spectrum of bioactivity and low oral toxicity have
expanded its use to several clinical conditions. Many potential beneficial
properties of the natural product [i.e. curcumin] have not produced effective
clinical results because curcumin shows a poor water solubility and stability,
a low and unpredictable oral absorption, and a quick metabolism.”1 Researchers
believe that these problems have hampered the clinical development of curcumin
as a pharmaceutical product and as a dietary supplement. Meriva has exhibited
high levels of oral bioavailability in
a previous comparative animal pharmacokinetic* study.5The Meriva
curcumin extact used in this clinical trial is a special patented combination
of curcumin with soybean-derived phosphatidylcholine (1:2 ratio). P roduced and distributed by Indena SpA of Milan, Italy, the world’s
largest manufacturer of standardized botanical extracts for the food, dietary
supplement, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Meriva has recently been
introduced into the market as a dietary supplement ingredient marketed in the
USA and Europe. In this clinical study, Meriva capsules prepared by Thorne
Research Inc. (Dover, Idaho, USA) were used at a dosage of 1 gram Meriva
curcumin complex per day (standardized
to contain 18-22 percent curcuminoids, and corresponding
to 200 mg curcumin per day). About Turmeric Turmeric
is a traditional spice, food and medicine, native to southeast Asia, and widely
used in Ayurvedic system of traditional medicine in India. Turmeric is made
from the roots and rhizomes (lateral roots) of the turmeric plant, a member of
the same plant family as ginger. According to a
recent review article, over 2,500 preclinical scientific investigations have
supported the activity of curcumin from turmeric as a potential agent to treat
directly or as an adjunct treatment for various chronic diseases such as
inflammatory diseases, some forms of cancer and possibly also Alzheimer’s
disease. Turmeric’s popularity has risen tremendously in the past few
years as consumers learn more about its safety and wide spectrum of health
benefits.2,3 Turmeric dietary supplements were ranked 5th in
sales in natural food stores in 2009, up about 23 percent from the previous
year, generating over $10 million in sales in that market channel alone,
according to a report in the American Botanical Council’s journal HerbalGram, based on information from SPINS, a market research firm which monitors sales of
dietary supplements in the natural food channel of trade.6 About the American Botanical Council Founded in 1988,
the American Botanical Council is a leading international nonprofit
organization addressing research and educational issues regarding herbs and
medicinal plants. ABC’s members include academic researchers and educators,
universities and libraries, health professionals and medical institutions,
botanical gardens and arboreta, government agencies, members of the herb,
dietary supplement, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries, journalists,
consumers and other interested parties from over 70 countries. The organization
occupies a historic 2.5-acre site in Austin, Texas where it publishes the
quarterly journal HerbalGram, the monthly e-publication HerbalEGram, HerbClips
(summaries of scientific and clinical publications), reference books and other
educational materials. ABC also hosts HerbMedPro, a powerful and time-saving
herbal database covering scientific and clinical publications on 225 herbs, and
co-produces “Herbal Insights” segments on the Healing Quest television program, available on more than 145
public television stations in the United States. ABC is tax-exempt
under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code. Information: Contact ABC at P.O. Box
144345, Austin, TX 78714-4345, Phone: 512-926-4900. Website: http://www.herbalgram.org/. * Pharmacokinetics is the study of the absorption,
metabolism and excretion of specific nutritional or drug compounds in humans or
animals.
References 1. Belcaro G, Cesarone MR, Dugall M, Pellegrini L, Ledda
A, Grossi MG, Togni S, Appendino G. Product-evaluation registry of Meriva®,
curcumin-phosphatidylcholine complex, for the complementary management of
osteoarthritis. PanMinerva Med. 2010;52 (Suppl. 1 to No. 1):55-62.2. Aggarwal BB, Sung B. Pharmacological basis for the role
of curcumin in chronic diseases: an age-old spice with modern targets. Trends
Pharmacol Sci. 2009;30:85-94. 3. Engels G. Turmeric (Curcuma
longa ). HerbalGram.
2010;86:1-3. 4.
Anand P, Kunnumakkara AB, Newman RA, Aggarwal BB. Bioavailability of Curcumin: Problems and
Promises. Mol Pharmaceutics. 2007;4(6):807-818. 5. Marczylo T, Verschoyle R, Cooke D,
Morazzoni P, Steward W, Gescher A, Comparison of systemic availability of
curcumin with that of curcumin formulated with phosphatidylcholine. Chemother
Pharmacol.
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