Efficacy and safety of curcumin in maintaining remission during disease-modifying antirheumatic drug withdrawal in rheumatoid arthritis at 52 weeks: a phase III double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial

Bhat SS, Ahmed S, Reji R, Mehta P, Paul A, Mohanan M, Babu S, Vinayak B, Vijayan A, Nalianda KK, Joseph S, Narayanan K, Padmaja R, Alex G, Shenoy P · Rheumatology International

The largest and longest curcumin-plus-piperine trial published, and it was null: flare-free survival at 52 weeks was 60% on curcumin against 64% on placebo (p=0.76), independent of serum curcuminoid levels (adjusted HR 0.99), despite the trial confirming adequate serum levels were reached.

Population

Adults with rheumatoid arthritis in sustained remission over 6 months, India (CTRI/2018/04/013279)

Intervention

Curcumin 1 g with piperine 5 mg twice daily for 52 weeks while conventional DMARDs were tapered

Comparator

Matching placebo

Limitations

Rheumatoid arthritis, not osteoarthritis, and a DMARD-withdrawal design rather than a symptom trial — tagged non-joint so it cannot move a cartilage tier. No serious adverse effects over 52 weeks, which is the longest safety observation in the curcumin trial literature.