Curcumin, prescription drugs equally benefit depression patients

A study on major depressive disorder (MDD) showed high absorption BCM-95^® Curcumin had equal effects to the prescription drug fluoxetine (generic form of Prozac^®), without the adverse effects (Phytother Res. 2013 Jul 6. doi: 10.1002/ptr.5025).

The study included three groups of 20 volunteers diagnosed with MDD receiving either 500 mg of BCM-95 Curcumin twice daily, 20 mg of fluoxetine daily or the combination of BCM-95 Curcumin twice daily with fluoxetine once daily. Results were assessed using the clinically validated Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D17 scale). This scale rates the severity of depression by evaluating mood, feelings of guilt, suicide ideation, insomnia, agitation or motor retardation, anxiety, weight loss and other somatic symptoms.

Authors reported that curcumin was well-tolerated by all of the patients. The proportion of responders as measured by the HAM-D17 scale was higher in the combination group (77.8 percent) than in the fluoxetine (64.7 percent) and the curcumin (62.5 percent) groups. However, these data were not statistically significant from one another. BCM-95 Curcumin worked as well as the prescription drug fluoxetine in terms of changes in the HAM-D17 score from baseline to six weeks of treatment. This study provides the first human clinical indication that curcumin may be used with MDD patients without causing concurrent suicidal ideation or other psychotic disorders.

BCM-95 Curcumin is absorbed seven to 10 times better than plain curcumin, and it has been the subject of 13 published studies, eight of them human clinical trials. Ajay Goel of the Baylor Research Institute and Charles A Sammons Cancer Center, co-author of the study, said the findings show "a novel and surprising application" for the product.

"People with depression have higher levels of inflammation in the brain," Goel said. "Also, people with depression have lower levels of neurogenesis in the brain, meaning they make fewer new brain cells than people with no history of depression. Curcumin is both a potent anti-inflammatory agent and a powerful stimulator for neurogenesis."

 A previous study compared BCM-95 Curcumin to fluoxetine and imipramine (an older class of antidepressant medications), and researchers found  the effect of the curcumin was similar to that of the two drugs.

"Depression is a major global public health issue leading to substantial disability," Goel said. "The pharmaceutical interventions can be quite costly, and have many potentially serious adverse effects. There are also many people whose disease does not fully respond to treatment. The BCM-95 Curcumin used in this study shows efficacy on major depression on its own at the same level as the drug, and even better results when combined with the drug."