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20.03.2023

Metastudy | Curcumin supplementation speeds up recovery from Covid-19

At this point in time, Covid-19 is no longer the deadly condition it was when the virus came crawling out of the lab. Nevertheless, SARS-CoV-2 can still make some people very ill. Curcumin supplementation may speed recovery from Covid-19 and reduce the risk of complications, a meta-study suggests.

Study
Amir Vahedian-Azimi, a researcher from Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences in Iran, traced 6 studies in which people with a mild or severe form of Covid-19 had received a supplement containing curcumin in addition to regular medication. [Link]

Vahedian-Azimi aggregated the results of the studies and reanalyzed them.

In in vitro studies, curcumin inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in cells. [Viruses. 2021 Sep 23;13(10):1914.] According to computer models, curcumin can prevent SARS-CoV-2 from entering cells via the ACE-2 receptor. [Sci Rep. 2021 Jan 21;11(1):2043.]

Results
The table below summarizes the studies used. Click on it for a larger version.

Curcumin reduced the duration of the disease, reduced the severity of symptoms and reduced the risk of complications, including death.

It appears that curcumin reduces the overreaction of the immune system. In any case, supplementation reduced the activity of inflammatory factors such as interleukin 1-beta and interleukin-6, and increased the activity of anti-inflammatory factors such as interleukin-10.

Which supplement?
A major problem with many curcumin supplements is that the body doesn't absorb curcumin very well. 5 of the 6 studies in the meta-study related to SinaCurcumin, a supplement that contains a nanotechnology application with curcumin. The manufacturer has packed the curcumin molecules into small fat globules that are better absorbed by the small intestine.

If you ingest curcumin from regular foods or unscrambled supplements with fat, then such globules also form in the small intestine (but probably not in such large quantities as in nano-supplements).

Conclusion
"Curcumin treatment may alleviate COVID-19 symptoms by restoration of the pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory balance", schrijft Vahedian-Azimi.

"Furthermore, the study by Pawar et al. [Front Pharmacol. 2021 May 28;12:669362.] showed that curcumin-piperine supplementation led to fewer thromboembolic episodes following recovery from COVID-19 infections."

"However, we highlight the point that future evidence-based clinical studies of COVID-19 disease should employ standardized and well-characterized preparations of curcumin-related compounds."

Source:
J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2023;20(1):2174704.

More:
Can't smell or taste anything after covid? Maybe curcumin may help 01.12.2021

Archives:
Immune System
Curcumin

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