Table 1.
Overview of the 15 animal and human trials evaluated in this paper.
| Reference | Disease | Number of Subjects/Patients | Study Duration | Curcumin Formulation | Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dai Q. et al. (2018) [12] | CIA | 34 rats | 21 days | Native curcumin | Paw swelling ↓, IL-1β and TNF-α ↓, proteinases MMP-1 and MMP-3 in the serum and synovium ↓, histopathologic synovial hyperplasia ↓ |
| Zheng Z. et al. (2015) [13] | AIA | 24 rats | 14 days | Native curcumin and curcumin-loaded nanoemulsions | TNF-α and IL-1β ↓, paw swelling ↓, histopathologic synovitis score ↓ |
| Kamarudin TA. et al. (2012) [14] | CIA | 24 rats | 28 days | Native curcumin | cell infiltration and cartilage/bone erosion ↓, no changes in synovial hyperplasia and pannus formation. |
| Kuncha M. et al. (2014) [15] | AIA | 60 rats | 21 days | Native curcumin | anti-arthritic effect of prednisolone ↑ in the curcumin group |
| Arora R. et al. (2015) [16] | AIA | 58 rats | 14 days | Curcumin-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) | Both curcumin SLNs and naproxen: pain ↓, mobility ↑, joint stiffness ↓, paw volume ↓, serum TNF-α and CRP levels ↓, radiological scores ↓. Noticeably, curcumin reduced serum anti-CCP-antibody levels, whereas naproxen did not. |
| Mun SH. et al. (2009) [17] | CIA | 30 mice | 15 days | Native curcumin | synovitis ↓ and bone erosion ↓, MMP-1 and MMP-3 ↓ |
| Moon DO. et al. (2010) [18] | CIA | NK. | 14 days | Native curcumin | TNF-α ↓, IL-1β ↓, MMPs ↓, prostaglandins E2 and COX-2 ↓ |
| Khayyal MT. et al. (2018) [19] | AIA | NK. | 21 days | Combination of curcumin with boswellic acids in a micellar delivery system | paw volume ↓, TNF-α ↓, IL-6 and CRP levels ↓ |
| Amalraj A. et al. (2017) [20] | RA | 36 patients | 90 days | Curcuminoids, turmeric essential oil and water-soluble fractions of turmeric built into a matrix, therefore protecting hydrophobic curcumin, via polar-nonpolar sandwich technology | DAS28 ↓, CRP and ESR ↓, RF ↓, number of swollen joints and tender joints ↓, ACR20 response ↑ |
| Chandran B. and Goel A. (2012) [21] | RA | 45 patients | 8 weeks | Native curcumin | number of swollen joints ↓, CRP levels ↓, DAS28 ↓, ACR20, ACR50 und ACR70 responses ↑ |
| Javadi M. et al. (2019) [22] | RA | 65 patients | 12 weeks | Curcumin nanomicelles | Positive changes in DAS28, tender and swollen joints, but not significant |
| Kuptniratsaikul V et al. (2014) [23] | Knee OA | 367 patients | 4 weeks | Native curcumin | improvement in the WOMAC global, WOMAC pain, WOMAC stiffness and WOMAC joint function scores |
| Panahi Y. et al. (2014) [24] | Knee OA | 39 patients | 6 weeks | Native curcumin | improved VAS-pain and WOMAC-global scores |
| Pinsornsak P. and Niempooq S. (2012) [25] | Knee OA | 88 patients | 3 months | Native curcumin | There were no significant differences in VAS pain score or joint function between the groups. |
| Singhal S. et al. (2021) [26] | Knee OA | 144 patients | 6 weeks | Native curcumin | Curcumin as effective as paracetamol |
| Lopresti AL. et al. (2021) [27] | Knee OA | 101 patients | 8 weeks | Native curcumin | Pain ↓, knee functional tests ↑, concomitant use of painkillers ↓ |
| Onakpoya IJ. et al. (2017) [28] | Knee OA | 797 patients | Meta-analysis | Various formulations | knee pain ↓, quality of life ↑ |
| Wu J. et al. (2019) [29] | All types of OA | 599 patients | Meta-analysis | Various formulations | VAS pain score ↓, WOMAC score ↑ |
CIA = collagen-induced arthritis, mTOR = mammalian target of rapamycin, IL = interleukin, TNF-α = tumour necrosis factor-α, MMP = matrix metalloproteinase, AIA = adjuvant-induced arthritis, NK-κB = nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells, MTX = methotrexate, CRP = c-reactive protein, CCP = cyclic citrullinated peptide, NK = not known, COX-2 = cyclo-oxygenase-2, RA = rheumatoid arthritis, DAS28 = Disease Activity Score in 28 joints, ESR = erythrocyte sedimentation rate, RF = rheumatoid factor, ACR = American College of Rheumatology, OA = osteoarthritis, WOMAC = Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (osteo) arthritis index, VAS = visual analogue scale, Up arrow = increased, Down arrow = reduced.