Saturday May 24, 2014 (foodconsumer.org) -- Taking curcuminoids as a dietary supplement may help patients with knee osteoarthritis, a study recently published in the Phytotherapy Research suggests.

The study led by Y. Panahi at Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran and colleagues shows taking curcuminoids helped patients with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis.

For the study, 19 patients were assigned to take 1500 mg of curcuminoids per day in 3 doses and 21 as controls received placebo for six weeks.  At baseline, there was no difference between study participants and controls in terms of age, gender, body mass index, and disease condition.

Outcomes measured were changes in Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), visual analogue scale (VAS) and Lequesne's pain functional index (LPFI) scores.

Researchers found patients who received curcuminoids significantly improved their WOMAC, VAS and LPFI scores, compared with controls.  The supplement also improved the pain and physical function scores although it did not improve the stiffness score.

No significant adverse effect was observed in either the study participants or the controls.

The study concluded "Curcuminoids is an effective and safe alternative treatment for osteoarthritis."

Curcuminoids are polyphenolic phytochemicals that similar in chemical structure to curcumin, a yellow phytochemical found in turmeric, a curry spice.  Curcuminoids are antioxidatative and antiinflammatory and are known to prevent colorectal cancer.  Curcumin, the simplest form of curcuminoid has been known to effectively prevent the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

In the United States, incidence of knee osteoarthritis is 240 per 100,000 person years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Osteoarthritis has been associated with increased risk of mortality. (David Liu, PHD)