The Efficacy and Safety of Highly-Bioavailable Curcumin for Treating Knee Osteoarthritis: A 6-Month Open-Labeled Prospective Study

BACKGROUND: We previously developed a surface-controlled water-dispersible form of curcumin that we called Theracurmin(®). The area under the blood concentration-time curve (AUC) of Theracurmin in humans was 27-fold higher than that of curcumin powder. Previously, we reported on the anti-inflammatory effects of Theracurmin for knee osteoarthritis. HYPOTHESIS/PURPOSE: We determined the clinical effects of orally administered Theracurmin in patients with knee osteoarthritis over a 6-month period. STUDY DESIGN: Open prospective study. METHODS: Fifty patients Kellgren-Lawrence grade II, III, or IV knee osteoarthritis who were above 40 years old were enrolled in this clinical study. Theracurmin containing 180 mg/day of curcumin was administered orally every day for 6 months. To monitor for adverse events, blood biochemistry analyses were performed before and after 6 months of each intervention. The patients’ knee symptoms were evaluated at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 months based on the Japanese Knee Osteoarthritis Measure, the knee pain visual analog scale, and the knee scoring system of the Japanese Orthopedic Association. RESULTS: Five cases dropped out during the study, but no cases dropped out because of major problems. No major side effects were observed with Theracurmin treatment, including the blood biochemistry analysis results. The effective group included 34 cases (75.6%), while the not-effective group included 11 cases. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the safety and good efficacy of Theracurmin for various types of knee osteoarthritis. Theracurmin shows great potential for the treatment of human knee osteoarthritis.