Efficacy and safety of curcumin and its combination with boswellic acid in osteoarthritis: a comparative, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study

Haroyan A, Mukuchyan V, Mkrtchyan N, Minasyan N, Gasparyan S, Sargsyan A, Narimanyan M, Hovhannisyan A · BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Curcumin plus boswellic acid beat placebo on both physical performance tests and the WOMAC pain index; curcumin alone beat placebo on performance tests only. The combination was the stronger arm.

Population

Adults aged 40-70 with osteoarthritis, Armenia (three-arm)

Intervention

CuraMed 500 mg (333 mg curcuminoids) or Curamin 500 mg (350 mg curcuminoids plus 150 mg boswellic acid), three times daily for 12 weeks

Comparator

Placebo

Limitations

Sponsored by EuroPharma, which markets both products; 12 weeks; the curcumin-alone arm missed the WOMAC pain endpoint.