THE EFFECT OF CURCUMIN SUPPLEMENTATION ON METABOLIC SYNDROME; A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL

Background and Aim: Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is one of the greatest challenges in recent century. Recently nanomicelle curcumin (NanoCurcumin) has been developed to increase the oral bioavailability of NanoCurcumin and its efficacy. This study conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of supplementation with NanoCurcumin along with low-calorie-low-glycemic-index diet on MetS indices including Triglycerides (TG), High Density Lipoprotein-Cholesterol (HDL-C), Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS), Blood Pressure (BP), and Waist Circumference (WC).Methods: This study was performed in a framework of double-blinded randomized controlled clinical Trial (RCT) that included 83 subjects with MetS. All subjects were advised on a balanced diet and were randomly assigned into two groups to receive either NanoCurcumin or placebo for 3 months. Serum lipid profile, FBS, BP and anthropometric indices were measured at the beginning and at the end of study. NanoCurcumin supplementation (40 mg; twice a day) resulted in HDL increment in comparison to placebo (P= 0.006). It also led to insulin increment (P= 0.007) and reduction in ALT (Alanin amino transferase) (P= 0.013), FBS (P= 0.01), TG (P < 0.001) and Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR) in men (P= 0.002) compared with baseline. Additionally, low-calorie-low-glycemic Index diet eventuated in a significant decrease in weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), WC, Hip Circumference (HC), Lean Body Mass (LBM) and serum TG after the intervention in both groups and there was no significant difference between two groupsConclusion: NanoCurcumin supplementation resulted in positive effects on health status of subjects with MetS. Although, low-calorie-low-glycemic-index diet along with NanoCurcumin supplementation led to even more positive effects than solely NanoCurcumin supplementation which suggested the role of lifestyle and healthy diet in preventing chronic diseases.