Study: Curcumin and Black Pepper Help Osteoarthritis

EAST WINDSOR, N.J.—A new study suggests the combination of Sabinsa’s Curcumin C3 Complex and BioPerine has a considerable benefits in the management of knee osteoarthritis (OA). (Phyototherapy Research. 2014 May. online. doi:10.1002/ptr.5174)

In the study, 53 participants with mild to moderate knee OA were randomly assigned to either receive the two supplements or a placebo over eight weeks. The results show the combination of Curcumin C3 Complex and BioPerine showed significant improvement in arthritic indices such as VAS (Visual Analogue Scale), WOMAC (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritic Index) and LPFI (Lequesne’s pain functional index) scores.

Curcumin is a potent anti-inflammatory and scavenger of free radicals, which cause oxidative stress thereby developing and progressing osteoarthritis. BioPerine is a black pepper extract, Piper nigrum, trademarked and patented by Sabinsa, that has been clinically studied for its safety and efficacy as a bioavailability enhancer for several dietary ingredients including Curcuminoids.

Study authors mention the combination of Curcumin with BioPerine as a novelty for this study, which improves the bioavailability by several mechanisms including the inhibition of curcuminoids glucuronidation in intestine and liver thus increasing the bioavailability of Curcuminoids.

The current study shows better or improved results against several previously conducted trials using bio-enhanced curcuminoids on osteoarthritic subjects in terms of quicker response, improvement in LPFI, VAS or WOMAC scale. Thus, this study paves the pathway for future larger scale clinical studies using BioPerine as a bioavailability enhancer for curcuminoids as a safe and efficacious combination.

Click here to view INSIDER’s “Curcumin Battleground Digital Summit" that features a presentation about Sabinsa’s Curcrumin C3 complex.