An Investigation into the Effects of a Curcumin Extract (Curcugen) on Osteoarthritis Pain of the Knee: A Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study

Lopresti AL, Smith SJ, Jackson-Michel S, Fairchild T · Nutrients

The primary endpoint separated: KOOS knee pain improved 11.98 points against 5.52 on placebo (p=0.009, d=0.39), with 33% against 19% of participants reaching the minimum clinically important difference (p=0.047). Among the secondary measures the numeric knee pain rating (p=0.001), the JOA score (p<0.001, d=0.74), the timed up-and-go (p=0.032) and the 6-minute walk (p<0.001) separated, while the four remaining KOOS subscales, every PROMIS-29 subscale, the 30-second chair stand and the 40 m fast-paced walk did not. Pain medication use fell in 37% on curcumin against 13% on placebo (p=0.015). Blinding held — 70% of participants guessed their allocation wrong or were unsure.

Population

Adults with knee osteoarthritis, Australia

Intervention

Curcugen standardised curcumin extract 500 mg twice daily for 8 weeks

Comparator

Placebo

Limitations

8 weeks, and funded by DolCas Biotech, which supplied the extract and took part in the study design and the writing of the manuscript; one author is its director of medical and scientific affairs. Most of the secondary measures did not separate from placebo.