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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2022 Nov;24(11):2192-2202.
doi: 10.1111/dom.14804. Epub 2022 Aug 11.

The effect of curcumin on hepatic fat content in individuals with obesity

Pernille H Hellmann  1   2 , Jonatan I Bagger  1   3 , Katrine R Carlander  1 , Julie Forman  4 , Elizaveta Chabanova  5 , Jens S Svenningsen  6 , Jens J Holst  6   7 , Matthew P Gillum  6   7 , Tina Vilsbøll  1   2   3 , Filip K Knop  1   2   3   6
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

The effect of curcumin on hepatic fat content in individuals with obesity

Pernille H Hellmann et al. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2022 Nov.

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the effect of curcumin treatment on hepatic fat content in obese individuals.

Materials and methods: In a double-blind, parallel-group trial, 37 obese, non-diabetic individuals were randomized to placebo or curcumin treatment for 6 weeks. Curcumin was dosed as lecithin-formulated tablet; 200 mg twice daily. The primary endpoint was hepatic fat content as assessed by magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Other endpoints included anthropometric measurements, hepatic biomarkers including FibroScan measurements, metabolic variables, inflammation markers, appetite measures and ad libitum food intake.

Results: Baseline characteristics (mean ± SD) were age 46 ± 14 years, hepatic fat content 12.2% ± 8.8% points, body mass index 38.8 ± 6.1 kg/m2 and waist circumference 125.8 ± 12.3 cm. After 6 weeks of treatment with curcumin, hepatic fat content was changed by -0.86% points (95% CI -3.65; 1.94) compared with 0.71% points (95% CI - 2.08; 3.51) with placebo, thus resulting in a non-significant estimated treatment difference of -1.57% points (95% CI -5.36; 2.22, P = .412). Compared with placebo, curcumin treatment caused small reductions in fasting plasma glucose (estimated treatment difference [ETD] - 0.24 mmol/L [95% CI -0.45; -0.03]), triglycerides (ETD [percentage change] -20.22% [95% CI -33.21; -6.03]) and gamma glutamyltransferase (ETD [percentage change] -15.70% [95% CI -23.32; -7.32]), but except for gamma glutamyltransferase, none of these differences remained statistically significant after adjusting for multiple testing. Treatment was well tolerated.

Conclusions: Compared with placebo, curcumin treatment for 6 weeks had no significant effect on MRS-assessed hepatic fat content in obese individuals with primarily mild steatosis. Curcumin was well tolerated.

Keywords: clinical trial; fatty liver disease; insulin resistance; phenol; randomized trial.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare that there are no conflicts of interests associated with this manuscript.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Timeline of the study and timeline of experimental days. Red drop indicates blood sampling, yellow drop indicates urine sampling. MRS, magnetic resonance spectroscopy; OGTT, oral glucose tolerance test; VAS, visual analogue scale
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Hepatic fat content (HFC) measured by magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) (mean ± SD) before and after intervention (baseline and end‐of‐treatment [EOT]) in 36 obese individuals randomized (1:1) to 6 weeks of placebo or curcumin treatment. Individual changes are shown in grey. Dagger (†) indicates P value from comparison of the estimated mean differences from baseline to EOT in the two groups, that is, estimated treatment difference. Double daggers (‡) indicate P value of the difference from baseline to EOT within each of the two groups
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Plasma/serum concentrations of A, Glucose, B, Insulin, C, C‐peptide, D, Glucagon, and E, Glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) during oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at baseline and at end‐of‐treatment (EOT) (mean ± SD) for all participants receiving placebo (n = 19) and curcumin (n = 18). For statistical comparisons, please refer to Table 2
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