Scientific Reports, one of the Nature journals, has recently published the results of a randomized clinical trial evaluating the supplementation of curcumin on clinical outcomes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk (ASCVD) among diabetic participants. This was an open-label randomized and controlled trial, with analysis of 72 diabetic participants (aged 50-74) with a calculated 10-year ASCVD risk of at least 5% (determined by age, sex, blood pressure, total and HDL cholesterol, etc.). Half of the participants were randomized to receive conventional therapy, while, in addition to conventional therapy, the other half received 1 capsule, three times per day with meals, containing 450 mg turmeric root and 50 mg turmeric extract (with the latter standardized to 95% curcuminoids) for a total of 14 weeks.
Compared to conventional treatment alone, curcumin supplementation was shown to significantly reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Compared to baseline values, only the group receiving curcumin had a significant reduction in LDL cholesterol, TNF-α, and malondialdehyde levels, and an increase in HDL cholesterol. Additionally, there was a significant decrease in the ASCVD score only in the curcumin group; at baseline, 33.3% of participants fell into the highest 10-year risk category (20% or higher), and after 14 weeks, this had fallen to 13.9% (with no change in the conventional group). Also notable, 22.2% of those in the curcumin group dropped below 5% calculated risk, compared to none in the conventional group. No significant differences were observed in BMI, heart rate, HbA1c level, fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol or triglycerides.