Turmeric is a well-researched agent for a host of conditions. This randomised double-blind placebo-controlled study of 40 subjects with osteoarthritis saw an overall improvement in pain and physical function in the group that was taking 500mg doses, three times daily compared to the placebo group (3).

It also shows very promising results in the clinical remission rates of ulcerative colitis. This systematic review looked at 6 randomised controlled trials (which is regarded as one of the highest forms of clinical evidence) of the usage of curcumin along with a conventional drug (mesalamine) versus just mesalamine alone. 5 of the 6 studies showed better reduction of symptoms, were able to achieve remission and/or prevent relapse when used as a complementary therapy alongside mesalamine (4).

Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin condition that impacts roughly 1 million people worldwide. There are many reasons to believe that curcumin could be an effective therapy in the treatment of psoriasis due to its anti-inflammatory, antioxidants and anti-proliferative properties. This randomised controlled trial of 63 patients saw greater improvements in symptoms in the group that used curcumin in conjunction with a topical steroid compared to the group that used just the topical steroid alone (5).

As far as taking curcumin alone for healthy non-symptomatic people, studies are limited due to the benefits not having the same immediate impact as on those with symptoms. Health markers will also be hard to measure if levels are within normal ranges from the start.

There was one study done on healthy middle-aged people (40-60 years) where they gave a group a low dose curcumin (80 mg/day) and the other group took a placebo. They measured blood and saliva at the beginning and after 4 weeks of the intervention. They found that the curcumin taking group saw lowered triglycerides but no changes in cholesterol, increased levels of nitric oxide (a vasodilating compound that’s important for maintaining healthy blood pressure) and also a decrease in amyloid plaque, one of the key features in the development of neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s (6)

This does indicate that low dose curcumin supplementation may exert some health benefits on a healthy user.

Whilst the evidence has generally shown promising results for a wide range of inflammatory based chronic conditions, a lot of the research that has been done looks at using curcumin as an adjunct alongside conventional medicine to bolster results. It must also be noted that many of these studies were done with relatively small sample sizes, which limits it’s reliability.

Despite curcumin typically generating positive outcomes in clinical trials, the efficacy of oral supplementation is not ideal. Poor bioavailability and uptake of curcumin in the gastrointestinal tract results in not much being entered in the bloodstream and therefore concentrations end up being much lower than used in clinical trials. Some curcumin supplements will account for this by formulating a curcumin with other ingredients to significantly improve it's bioavailability.