The Effect of Curcumin on some of Traditional and Non-traditional Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Pilot Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial
Iran J Pharm Res. 2015; 14(2):479-486
| Among the various organs in our body, heart is the most efficient. A number of physiological changes happen due to which cardiac health gets affected either directly or indirectly. Across the world cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and related complications are considered as a leading cause of death. Factors such as age, gender, hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking, diabetes mellitus and related complications also influence the CVD condition. Dyslipidemia along with arterial stenosis, being the main causative factor for atheromatous lesions have a strong association with CVDs. The normal fat/lipoprotein metabolism is reversed in other ways, which leads to increase in LDLs (bad cholesterol) and decrease in HDLs (good cholesterol), which are vice versa in normal lipoprotein metabolism. Inflammation is crucially involved in different stages of artherosclerosis namely the serum concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP). Hence, natural compounds like Curcumin, known for its anti-inflammatory potential play a predominant role in managing CVDs and related complications. |
Objective:
To investigate the efficacy of curcumin in subjects with coronary artery disease (CAD) by evaluating lipid profile, blood glucose level and inflammatory markers.
Study Design:
This was an 8-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 33 patients over 18 years old, who were diagnosed with CAD and were enrolled in the study after CAD was confirmed by angiography by a cardiologist. All patients were randomized to receive either one capsule (500 mg) of Curcumin C3 Complex® (n=17) four times a day or equivalent placebo (n=16) for 8 weeks.
The parameters evaluated during the trial (i.e. at baseline and at the end of the study) included fasting glucose level and lipid profile (total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C and Triglycerides) along with liver and kidney function tests.
Results:
Conclusion
In accordance with earlier reported health benefits and potential cardioprotective effects and current study data, Curcumin can be an effective supplement in the management of cardiovascular risk factors by possessing significant effect on cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Hence, these observations have paved way for further extensive studies on the use of curcuminoids in cardiovascular disorders