Curcumin: health effects, dosage and possible risks

Curcumin is a bioactive substance (specifically a polyphenol) derived from the root of the Curcuma longa plant . It is often confused with turmeric itself , and although these substances are very similar in name and effects, they are not synonyms.

Turmeric is produced by drying and grinding the rhizome of the long turmeric plant, and is mainly known as a kitchen spice. Turmeric itself contains many bioactive substances, among which you can also find the so-called curcuminoids. Mainly 3 types of curcuminoids are known, with bisdemethoxycurcumin represented in the lowest amount, followed by demethoxycurcumin and finally curcumin itself, which normally makes up to 77% of all curcuminoids in turmeric. 

Simply put, curcumin is a natural part of turmeric and  is one of the many bioactive substances that you can find in this spice. The content of all curcuminoids in turmeric is usually in the range of 1-6% , in the case of curcumin it is most often a concentration of up to 5% (of course depending on the total content of curcuminoids).

Curcumin and its use in the world

Due to its positive effects on health, curcumin is often used in alternative medicine and in many countries it is (most often as part of turmeric) a natural part of food, drinks or specific rituals. A study by Dr. Hewlings et al. points out, for example, its traditional use in:

• India, where it is part of the spice
• Japan, where it is served in tea
• Malaysia, where it is used as an antiseptic
• Pakistan, where it is administered as an anti-inflammatory medicine

What positive effects can you expect from curcumin?

1. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action

The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin are to a large extent the essence of the mechanism of action of its positive influence on human health. In this way, curcumin can stimulate the activity of some antioxidant systems in the body , and its ability to reduce the concentration of markers of oxidative stress has also been proven . In addition to increasing the body’s antioxidant capacity, curcumin is able to absorb some free radicals by itself , and thirdly, it can also reduce the activity of those systems in the body that naturally produce free radicals.

Oxidative stress also has a lot to do with inflammatory reactions, in both directions  – oxidative stress can contribute to the development of diseases characterized by the development of inflammatory processes, and on the other hand, it is also known that inflammatory foci in the body produce additional free radicals. The most important mediator of inflammation in the body is the so-called TNF-α, the activation of which also involves NF-κB, among others. Curcumin plays its role precisely in connection with NF-κB , when it partially blocks its activation, thus interfering with the TNF-α activation pathway.

2. Supportive therapy of metabolic syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a term for a set of symptoms, and  its presence dramatically increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Metabolic syndrome is characterized by insulin resistance, which leads to type II diabetes. type, then hypertension, increased level of blood lipids (typically cholesterol, triacylglycerols, etc.) and, last but not least, obesity. In metabolic syndrome, the development of inflammatory reactions in the body is typical, especially in response to excess weight and increased lipid levels and damage to the inner lining of blood vessels, which is caused by an unnaturally high level of glucose in the blood and also increased blood pressure.

Studies show that curcumin can contribute to the treatment of metabolic syndrome in several ways – it helps to improve the sensitivity of tissues to insulin , partially suppresses the formation of new fat cells, participates in the regulation of blood pressure and, of course, reduces the level of oxidative stress. However, it should be mentioned that this is only an additional effect and the therapy of the metabolic syndrome depends mainly on a change in the overall lifestyle  – weight loss, replacing saturated fatty acids with unsaturated ones, regular exercise, etc.

3. Supportive therapy of arthritis

Osteoarthritis is also a very common and, unfortunately, very painful disease related to inflammatory processes. This disease mainly affects the elderly and causes chronic pain in the joints, which further affects not only the (in)ability to move, but also the quality of life and overall health. The role of curcumin here again lies in its anti-inflammatory activity.  In this case , curcumin is believed to act locally at the sites of inflammation, i.e. in the joints , where it relieves arthritis-related pain. In some studies , despite a decrease in the level of perceived pain, there were no clear decreases in the levels of inflammatory markers, which would indicate a systemic effect of this substance.

Curcumin vs turmeric: which is more effective? 

Although, due to their origin, you will encounter both substances in the vast majority of cases in food or spices at the same time, certain differences in effectiveness may also occur when they are separated. Curcumin is considered to be one of the most active substances in turmeric, so after extraction and separate use it can behave differently than when combined with other compounds.

However, since turmeric contains a number of other bioactive substances in addition to curcumin, studies show that its effectiveness may be higher in some respects than that of curcumin alone. This is the case in the case of inhibiting (i.e. preventing) the growth of filamentous fungi or mold. Another effect that was more pronounced with turmeric as such was in  suppressing the growth of tumor cells . However, it should be noted that although these were human tumor cells taken from tissue, the entire study was conducted in vitro (in a test tube). Its results must therefore be taken with caution, and a larger number of high-quality clinical studies will be needed to confirm or refute this effect.

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Bioavailability and dosage of curcumin

Studies most often work with a dose of 36-180 mg of curcumin per day , which corresponds to approximately 440-2200 mg of turmeric.

A big problem when supplementing curcumin, but also when consuming it in a normal diet, is its low ability to absorb, very fast metabolism and the formation of ineffective intermediate products, and equally fast elimination from the body. When used and consumed alone, it can be said that a large part of the positive effects that curcumin is capable of will remain unused. Fortunately, however, there are ways to reverse this unfavorable condition. One of the most effective is the combination with piperine , which is an alkaloid contained in black pepper and which is responsible for its pungent taste. Piperine has the ability to block the metabolic transformation of curcumin, which under normal circumstances is almost instantaneous, and thus increases its bioavailability by up to 2000% .

Side effects and safety 

Although the safety of curcumin is declared by many world authorities in the field of food safety (FSA, JECFA) and its highest daily safe dose not causing harm to the organism reaches the upper limit of up to 3mg/kg of body weight , side effects cannot be avoided even with this substance in some cases.

The most commonly reported symptoms are headache, diarrhea, nausea, yellow stools, or rash . In one study , an increase in serum alkaline phosphatase and lactate dehydrogenase concentrations was also noted at high doses.

Vilgain Curcumin with Piperine

What to take from it? 

Curcumin is a polyphenol that is often confused with turmeric – but it is actually a component of turmeric and is responsible for much of the spice’s positive health effects. Among the most important properties of curcumin are its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, and most of its benefits are related to this mechanism.

As for the bioavailability of curcumin, it is itself very poor – curcumin is poorly absorbed and very soon breaks down into inactive metabolites . This fact can be greatly improved by combining curcumin with piperine , which blocks its rapid degradation. Studies most often work with a dose of 36-180 mg of curcumin per day, which is equivalent to 440-2200 mg of turmeric.