Turmeric

At The Naked Pharmacy, we ensure that all of our supplements are made with effective strength bioactives, so they are clinically proven to work.

We aim for each supplement to be scientifically supported by multiple randomised placebo-controlled studies. All clinical trial studies we use to support our supplements are undertaken on human patients, using the exact same dosage and formulation of the product. The scientific studies are published in peer review journals.

What can Turmeric do for you?

Research is now showing that the bioactives in turmeric have produced significantly beneficial effects on joint and muscle discomfort and long term joint conditions, as well as sports performance and recovery.

Curcuminoids are the primary bioactives in turmeric. We know they’re most effective at a concentration of 95% so that’s what you’ll find in our Natruflex supplement. Curcuminoids are chemicals that are bioactive, which means they influence biochemical systems in the body. There are seven curcuminoid-type compounds in turmeric, and curcumin is just one of them.If you’d like for more information on the available evidence which details and supports the efficacy of turmeric, follow the links below.

The Studies

The scientific studies to support our claims on turmeric are published in the following peer review journals:

Study: A randomized, pilot study to assess the efficacy and safety of curcumin in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis by Chandran B et al, 2012— RCT Randomised placebo controlled, 45 Human participants.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of curcumin alone, and in combination with diclofenac sodium in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The authors concluded that patients in all three treatment groups showed statistically significant changes in their Disease Activity Score (DAS) scores.

Interestingly, the curcumin group showed the highest percentage of improvement. Their results were significantly better than the patients in the diclofenac sodium group. More importantly, curcumin treatment was found to be safe and did not relate with any adverse events.

Study: Efficacy and safety of Curcuma domestica extracts in patients with knee osteoarthritis by Kuptniratsaikul V et al, 2009— RCT Randomised placebo controlled,— 107 Human participants— P value: 0.016.

The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy and safety of Curcuma domestica extracts in pain reduction and functional improvement in patients with knee osteoarthritis.The authors concluded that C. domestica extracts seem to be similarly efficacious and as safe as ibuprofen for the treatment of knee OA.

Study: Safety and anti-inflammatory activity of curcumin: a component of tumeric (Curcuma longa) by Chainani-Wu N, 2003.

The aim of this study was to summarise the literature on the safety and anti-inflammatory activity of curcumin. A large number of studies on curcumin were identified. These included studies on the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antifungal properties of curcuminoids.

The laboratory studies have identified a number of different molecules involved in inflammation that are inhibited by curcumin including phospholipase, lipooxygenase, cyclooxygenase 2, leukotrienes, thromboxane, prostaglandins, nitric oxide, collagenase, elastase, hyaluronidase, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), interferon-inducible protein, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and interleukin-12 (IL-12).

Curcumin has been demonstrated to be safe in six human trials and has demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity. It may exert its anti-inflammatory activity by inhibition of a number of different molecules that play a role in inflammation.

Study: Evaluation of anti-inflammatory property of curcumin (diferuloyl methane) in patients with postoperative inflammation by Satoskar RR et al, 1986

The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of curcumin (diferuloyl methane) in comparison with phenylbutazone and a placebo.

Phenylbutazone and curcumin produced a better anti-inflammatory response than the placebo.

Glossary of Terms

There are a few key terms to be aware of when reviewing these studies:

Randomised clinical trial: A clinical trial in which the participants are assigned randomly (by chance alone) to different treatments.

Double-blind study: A study in which neither the participants nor the experimenters know who is receiving a particular treatment. This procedure is utilized to prevent bias in research results.

Double-blind studies are particularly useful for preventing bias due to demand characteristics or the placebo effect.

Placebo: An inactive treatment used in a clinical trial, sometimes referred to as a “sugar pill.” A placebo-controlled trial compares a new treatment with a placebo, in order to give greater confidence that the result is only due to the test/active ingredient.

P-value: The probability of obtaining the observed results of a test. The lower the p-value is, the more confident we can be of a true result. For example, a p- value of 0.001 confirms a result as 99.9% accurate.