Curcumin is a natural polyphenol found in turmeric roots. A polyphenol is any compound that has at least two phenolic -OH groups in its structure. Plant polyphenols are good antioxidants in vitro, but their efficacy in vivo remains uncertain. Curcumin is most often presented as an antioxidant, as it removes various reactive oxygen and nitrogen species while boosting the activity of antioxidant enzymes. Curcumin also has important anti-inflammatory effects. Curcumin belongs to the group of antioxidants with the lowest antioxidant activity. Oxidative stress occurs when oxidative activities predominate in cells or tissue and the balance between oxidants and antioxidants is disrupted. Oxidative stress is associated with various chronic diseases and the aging process. The master's thesis evaluated the antioxidant effect of curcumin in healthy individuals as well as those with metabolic-hormonal disorders: type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and obesity. Oxidative stress and inflammation can be measured in the blood by various biological markers: hs-CRP, TNF-α, IL-6, PAB, TAC, SOD, MDA, and GSH.
We compiled a search and review of the literature in the PubMed database using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Part of the selected studies was also used for meta-analysis, where we compared the effects of curcumin on biological markers of oxidative stress and inflammation in various metabolic-hormonal disorders and healthy individuals.
35 clinical trials have been included in our thesis using selected criteria and guidelines, 21 of which are included in the meta-analysis, and the rest are compared in terms of content. All studies are analyzed, and the data, together with a summary, is collected in a spreadsheet. A meta-analysis using subgroup analysis comparing different disease states was performed for the following biological markers of inflammation and oxidative stress: hs-CRP, TNF-α, IL-6, PAB, TAC, SOD, MDA, and GSH.
Meta-analysis shows that curcumin has a significant effect on hs-CRP, TNF-α, IL-6, TAC, and MDA. Subgroup analysis shows that the efficacy of curcumin is most often established in individuals with metabolic syndrome. Together with the content comparison of the study, we may conclude that curcumin has a certain effect on the markers of inflammation and oxidative stress in people with metabolic-hormonal disorders, while the effect of curcumin in healthy people is still questionable.
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