Evaluation of Curcumin-Piperine Supplementation in Covid-19 Patients Admitted to the Intensive Care: A Double-Blind, Randomized Controlled Trial Publisher Pubmed



Askari G^{1, 2} ; Bagherniya M^{1, 2} ; Kiani Z¹ ; Alikiaii B² ; Mirjalili M² ; Shojaei M¹ ; Hassanizadeh S¹ ; Vajdi M¹ ; Feizi A³ ; Majeed M⁴ ; Sahebkar A^{5, 6, 7} Show Affiliations
Source: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology Published:2023

Abstract

Background: Curcumin is a traditional remedy for diseases associated with hyper-inflammatory responses and immune system impairment. Piperine, a bioactive compound in black pepper, has the potential to enhance curcumin bioavailability. 0This study aims to examine the effect of the curcumin-piperine co-supplementation in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 and admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Material and Methods: In this parallel randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 40 patients with COVID-19 admitted to ICU were randomized to receive three capsules of curcumin (500 mg)-piperine (5 mg) or placebo for 7 days. Results: After 1 week of the intervention, serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (p = 0.02) and C-reactive protein (CRP) (p = 0.03) were significantly decreased, and hemoglobin was increased (p = 0.03) in the curcumin-piperine compared to the placebo group. However, compared with the placebo, curcumin-piperine had no significant effects on the other biochemical, hematological, and arterial blood gas and 28-day mortality rate was three patients in each group (p = 0.99). Conclusion: The study results showed that short-term curcumin-piperine supplementation significantly decreased CRP, AST, and increased hemoglobin in COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU. Based on these promising findings, curcumin appears to be a complementary treatment option for COVID-19 patients, although some parameters were not affected by the intervention. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.