Nanocurcumin supplementation improves pulmonary function in severe COPD patients: A randomized, double blind, and placebo‐controlled clinical trial
Mahdieh Zare'i, Masoumeh Rabieepour, R. Ghareaghaji, Rasoul Zarrin, Amir Hossein Faghfouri
Abstract
Abstract Considering the anti‐inflammatory properties of curcumin, the present study was designed to investigate the effect of nano‐curcumin on respiratory indices and interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) levels in severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients as a common pulmonary disease causing restricted airflow and breathing problems. In the current double‐blind placebo‐controlled randomized clinical trial study, 60 patients with stages 3 and 4 COPD were randomly assigned into 80 mg nano‐curcumin ( n = 30) and placebo groups ( n = 30) for 3 months. The effect of nano‐curcumin on pulmonary function was evaluated by the first second of forced expiration (FEV1) to the full, forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio. IL‐6 serum level, blood pressure, and anthropometric indices were also measured. Nano‐curcumin supplementation led to a significant decrease in IL‐6 level ( p < 0.001) and an increase in FEV1 ( p < 0.001), FVC ( p = 0.003), and FEV1/FVC ( p < 0.001) compared to placebo at the endpoint. Nano‐curcumin had a significantly increasing effect on weight and body mass index compared to the placebo group ( P ANCOVA adjusted for baseline values = 0.042). There was a meaningful improvement in systolic blood pressure in the nano‐curcumin group compared to the placebo group ( P ANCOVA adjusted for baseline values = 0.026). There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of waist circumference, waist‐to‐hip ratio, and diastolic blood pressure ( P ANCOVA adjusted for baseline values >0.05). Nano‐curcumin supplement seems to have favorable effects on inflammation status and respiratory indices of patients with severe COPD.