The Efficacy of Curcumin-Piperine Co-Supplementation on Clinical Symptoms, Duration, Severity, and Inflammatory Factors in Covid-19 Outpatients: A Randomized Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial Publisher Pubmed

Summary: Curcumin-piperine reduces weakness in COVID-19 outpatients but lacks significant impact on other clinical or biochemical indices. #COVID19 #Curcumin

Askari G^{1, 2, 3} ; Sahebkar A^{4, 5, 6} ; Soleimani D⁷ ; Mahdavi A³ ; Rafiee S³ ; Majeed M⁸ ; Khorvash F⁹ ; Iraj B¹⁰ ; Elyasi M³ ; Rouhani MH¹ ; Bagherniya M^{1, 2, 3}
Source: Trials Published:2022

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 pandemic has made the disease a major global problem by creating a significant burden on health, economic, and social status. To date, there are no effective and approved medications for this disease. Curcumin as an anti-inflammatory agent can have a positive effect on the control of COVID-19 complications. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of curcumin-piperine supplementation on clinical symptoms, duration, severity, and inflammatory factors in patients with COVID-19. Methods: Forty-six outpatients with COVID-19 disease were randomly allocated to receive two capsules of curcumin-piperine; each capsule contained 500 mg curcumin plus 5 mg piperine or placebo for 14 days. Results: Mean changes in complete blood count, liver enzymes, blood glucose levels, lipid parameters, kidney function, and c-reactive protein (CRP) were not significantly different between the two groups. There was a significant improvement in health status, including dry cough, sputum cough, ague, sore throat, weakness, muscular pain, headache, and dyspnea at week 2 in both curcumin-piperine and placebo groups (P value < 0.05); however, the improvement in weakness was more in the curcumin-piperine group than with placebo group (P value 025). Conclusion: The present study results showed that curcumin-piperine co-supplementation in outpatients with COVID-19 could significantly reduce weakness. However, in this study, curcumin-piperine co-supplementation could not significantly affect the other indices, including biochemical and clinical indices. Trial registration: Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials IRCT20121216011763N46. 2020-10-31. © 2022, The Author(s).