Hot Water Extract of Curcuma longa L. Improves Serum Inflammatory Markers and General Health in Subjects with Overweight or Prehypertension/Mild Hypertension: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 11; no. 8; p. 1822
• Main Authors: Uchio, Ryusei, Muroyama, Koutarou, Okuda-Hanafusa, Chinatsu, Kawasaki, Kengo, Yamamoto, Yoshihiro, Murosaki, Shinji
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 07.08.2019; MDPI
• Subjects: Aged; anti-inflammatory agents; Biomarkers - blood; Blood & organ donations; Blood pressure; blood serum; C-reactive protein; Cell adhesion & migration; Clinical trials; Curcuma - chemistry; Curcuma longa; Cyclohexanols - administration & dosage; Disease; Double-Blind Method; Double-blind studies; elderly; emotions; glucose; glycohemoglobin; health surveys; Hepatitis; high density lipoprotein cholesterol; Humans; Hypertension; Hypertension - blood; Inflammation; Inflammation - blood; interleukin-6; Mental Health; metabolic diseases; Metabolism; Middle age; Middle Aged; Obesity; overweight; Overweight - blood; Placebos; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Prehypertension - blood; R&D; randomized clinical trials; Research & development; Sesquiterpenes - administration & dosage; Sleep; triacylglycerols; tumor necrosis factor-alpha; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; vascular cell adhesion molecules; Water; Womens health; Japan; profile of mood states; glucose; short-form 36-item health survey; C-reactive protein; bisacurone; turmeric (Curcuma longa L.); turmeronol; hemoglobin A1c; high-density cholesterol; chronic inflammation
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu11081822

To investigate the effect of a hot water extract of C. longa L. (WEC) containing anti-inflammatory agents, bisacurone, and turmeronol on chronic inflammation, a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study was conducted in middle-aged and elderly subjects aged 50–69 years with overweight or prehypertension/mild hypertension. The subjects consumed 900 mg WEC tablets, containing 400 μg bisacurone, 80 μg turmeronol A and 20 μg turmeronol B (WEC group: n = 45), or placebo tablets without WEC (placebo group: n = 45) daily for 12 weeks. Serum inflammatory and metabolic markers were measured. The subjects also completed the MOS 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36) and the Profile of Mood States scale (POMS). In the WEC group, the serum levels of C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 decreased significantly. Compared with the placebo group, the WEC group had significantly lower serum levels of glucose, hemoglobin A1c, and triglycerides, as well as higher serum levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The WEC group also showed significant improvement of SF-36 scores (for general health, vitality, mental health, and mental summary component) and POMS scores for positive mood states (vigor-activity and friendliness). In conclusion, WEC may ameliorate chronic low-grade inflammation, thus contributing to the improvement of associated metabolic disorders and general health.