Sana Qayyum, Asghar Mehdi.
Potential efficacy of Turmeric as an anti-inflammatory agent and antioxidant in the treatment of Osteoarthritis.
Khyber Med Uni Med J Jan ;15(3):190-7.

OBJECTIVE: To elaborate anti-inflammatory and antioxidant role of turmeric in management of osteoarthritis. METHODS: In this review article, we focused on the anti-inflammatory properties of Turmeric, documented by randomized controlled trials and review articles published from 2011-2020 in PubMed. Out of 34 articles found, 27 were excluded on the basis of animal/in-vitro studies, with insufficient data, not related to turmeric and osteoarthritis, and non-randomized controlled trials. Studies taken into consideration were of shorter durations ranging from 4 weeks to 4 months. Finally, seven studies were shortlisted which highlighted the importance of turmeric as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. Five studies compared turmeric with Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) while two compared its affects with placebo. RESULTS: The review results exhibit anti-inflammatory & anti-oxidant properties of curcumin to minimize wear & tear of articular cartilage. It limits progression of disease and reduces the requirement of analgesics, thus protects from potential adverse effects. The p-value of <0.05 was considered as significant and confidence interval (CI) 0.58-0.79 in curcumin groups compared to NSAIDs group CI range 0.53-0.82. Two studies with placebo also showed statistically significant with higher and lower formulations of curcumin intake. CONCLUSION: Prolonged use of NSAIDs in osteoarthritis is associated with serious gastrointestinal and cardiovascular adverse effects. Use of turmeric can play a pivotal role in management keeping patient safety and reducing the requirement of NSAID`s in osteoarthritis. In addition, it can be used as adjuvant or alone in patients and is an economical option with minimal side effects compared to NSAIDs.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com