supplist/supplements/Curcumin

Curcumin

Curcuminoid extract from Curcuma longa

The clearest current evidence is for osteoarthritis and joint pain. Curcumin also looks probably helpful for metabolic markers, lipid effects, fatty liver (NAFLD) or liver health, and chemotherapy-side-effect support, but the broad anti-inflammatory and mood-marketing picture is more mixed under the current grading system than the old A-heavy page implied. Formulation still matters a lot: enhanced-bioavailability products and piperine combinations drive many of the stronger trials.

What the research says

Each row is a different health effect. A means the support looks strongest, B likely helpful, C mixed or modest, and — not enough human evidence yet.

A · Strong evidence of benefit
A
Osteoarthritis & joint pain
13 of 16 reviews positive. Curcumin matches NSAID pain relief in head-to-head trials with about half the rate of adverse reactions.
32 papers · 16 research reviews
B · Likely helpful
B
Lipid profile & cholesterol
20 of 39 reviews positive on triglycerides and cholesterol. Effects most pronounced in people with metabolic disease and with longer supplementation (≥12 weeks).
55 papers · 39 research reviews
B
Metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance & T2D
22 of 43 reviews positive on blood-sugar and insulin markers. Larger effects in type 2 diabetes than prediabetes; nanocurcumin formulations show the greatest reductions.
60 papers · 43 research reviews
B
NAFLD & liver health
6 of 15 reviews clearly positive, 9 mixed. Curcumin reduces liver enzymes and improves liver fat at 400–2,000 mg/day for ≥8 weeks.
30 papers · 15 research reviews
B
Cancer adjuvant (chemo & radiation side effects)
3 of 3 reviews positive. Reduces severity of chemo/radiation oral mucositis and weight loss in cancer patients. Symptom-management only — not anti-cancer evidence.
13 papers · 3 research reviews
C · Mixed or limited evidence
C
Inflammation markers (CRP, IL-6, TNF-α)
24 of 41 review report reductions in inflammation markers. Credibility rated "high" in a 2024 umbrella review. Effects largest at ≤1,000 mg/day.
59 papers · 41 research reviews
C
Depression & mood
19 papers, only 2 passed the quality filter. Most RCTs used unspecified formulations, small samples, or polyherbal designs. Headline meta-analysis positive but evidence base too noisy.
19 papers · 4 research reviews
C
Ulcerative colitis & IBD
11 paper, only 2 passed the quality filter. One review found 6 of 7 trials positive, but most trials use turmeric-not-curcumin or polyherbal designs.
11 papers · 7 research reviews

Quick facts

Dose, form and timing based on trials in the database.

Typical dose
500–2,000 mg/day of curcuminoid extract; most positive trials cluster at 1,000 mg/day. Enhanced-bioavailability formulations are effective at lower doses
Best taken
With a meal containing fat. Curcumin is fat-soluble and poorly absorbed without lipid co-administration. Divided doses (twice daily) are common
Form
Standardized 95% curcuminoid extract is the baseline. Enhanced-bioavailability forms — Meriva (lecithin-phytosome), Theracurmin, BCM-95, Longvida — or curcumin co-administered with piperine show roughly 7–20× higher absorption than plain curcumin
Common side effects
Mild stomach discomfort (nausea, loose stools, reflux) at higher doses. Generally well-tolerated; head-to-head trials report fewer adverse reactions than NSAIDs
Drug interactions
May amplify the effect of blood thinners (warfarin, aspirin) and antiplatelet drugs. Inhibits CYP3A4 — possible interactions with statins, calcium channel blockers, and immunosuppressants. May lower blood glucose additively with antidiabetic medications
Bioavailability
Plain curcumin has roughly 1% oral bioavailability. Piperine co-administration increases absorption ~20×. Enhanced formulations and piperine combinations drive most positive clinical trial results
Turmeric vs curcumin
Turmeric powder is roughly 3% curcumin by weight. A 500 mg turmeric capsule delivers ~15 mg curcumin — far below trial doses. Standardized curcuminoid extracts (95%) are what trials report

Quality-verified products

Products that pass third-party quality testing.

Product quality data coming soon

Product recommendations are being built from USP Verified, NSF Certified, and Labdoor test data. Products will only appear here after the supplement itself clears the evidence bar above — and only if the product passes third-party purity testing.

How we graded Curcumin

Grades come from 199 unique research papers indexed from PubMed — including 80 meta-analyses, 34 systematic reviews, and 80 randomized trials. Curcumin's evidence base is unusually rich in formulation comparisons: enhanced-bioavailability products (Meriva, Theracurmin, BCM-95) and curcumin+piperine combinations dominate positive trials, while turmeric powder trials are flagged low-confidence when the curcumin content is unclear (typical turmeric is ~3% curcumin). The depression and ulcerative colitis outcomes have ≥10 papers each but most fail the quality filter — small samples, polyherbal designs, or unspecified formulations — so they sit under "common perception, missing data" until cleaner trials accumulate. Each supplement is graded by health effect using a certainty × effect matrix applied across PubMed evidence per health effect. Cochrane reviews and high-quality systematic reviews carry the most weight. From abstract-only data, "high certainty" is rare — most A grades come from moderate certainty plus consistent meaningful-positive evidence. See Methodology for full detail.

Read the full methodology → · Download all 199 citations (PDF)