Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Tier 1 — Meta-analysis / systematic reviewPeer-reviewed

Curcumin and chronic disease: an umbrella review of randomised clinical trials

Q. Xu et al.

2025

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Summary

This umbrella review by Xu et al. (2025) consolidates evidence from existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomised clinical trials to assess the therapeutic potential of curcumin supplementation across multiple chronic disease domains. By aggregating higher-order evidence, the review provides a broad appraisal of effect consistency, magnitude, and methodological quality across the curcumin literature. The work is likely to highlight heterogeneity in study populations, formulations, and bioavailability challenges that limit definitive clinical conclusions.

UK applicability

Although the review is international in scope, its findings are broadly applicable to UK clinical and public health contexts, particularly given growing consumer interest in turmeric and curcumin supplements and ongoing UK dietary guidance discussions around anti-inflammatory nutrition. Clinicians and dietitians in the UK should note that bioavailability limitations and formulation variability identified in such reviews remain relevant when advising patients.

Key measures

Inflammatory biomarkers (e.g. CRP, IL-6); metabolic markers (e.g. fasting glucose, lipid profiles); disease-specific clinical endpoints; adverse event rates; effect sizes from constituent meta-analyses

Outcomes reported

The review synthesises evidence from multiple systematic reviews and meta-analyses of RCTs examining curcumin's effects across a range of chronic disease conditions, reporting on biomarkers, clinical endpoints, and safety outcomes. Key findings likely cover inflammatory markers, metabolic parameters, and disease-specific outcomes across conditions such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and inflammatory disorders.

Theme
Nutrition & health
Subject
Phytonutrients & dietary supplements
Study type
Systematic Review
Study design
Umbrella review
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
Geography
International
System type
Human clinical
Catalogue ID
XL0628

Topic tags

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