Novel Form of Curcumin Improves Endothelial Function in Young, Healthy Individuals

Abstract

It is known that endothelial dysfunction (ED) may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). ED can be measured as a decreased flow‐mediated dilation (FMD) response, using occlusion and subsequent dilation response of the brachial artery. Increased levels of inflammatory molecules contribute to ED, and increase CVD. Curcumin, a highly pleiotropic molecule, interacts with multiple inflammatory pathways primarily by inhibiting the IκB Kinase (IKK) signaling complex thereby preventing the activation of nuclear factor‐kappa B (NF‐κB). However, poor solubility and rapid metabolism may limit benefits. CurcuWIN®, a novel curcumin formulation containing 20% curcuminoids (CUR), resulted in 45.9 fold greater absorption over standard curcumin. This current study sought to examine the effect of differing doses of a novel form of curcumin on FMD. Fifty‐nine moderately trained men (n=30; 21±2 years; 173.8±20.0 cm; 79.4±11.0 kg) and women (n=29; 21±2 years; 164.9±6.5 cm; 60.1±8.0 kg) were randomly assigned to ingest 50 mg CUR (in the form of 250 mg CurcuWIN®), 200 mg CUR (in the form of 1000 mg CurcuWIN®), or placebo (PLA) for eight weeks in a double‐blind, randomized, placebo controlled parallel design. ANOVA and paired t‐tests were used to examine differences followed by magnitude based inference. Subsequently, a subset analyses was performed on subjects with a baseline FMD ≤7%. An improvement of magnitude (Effect size [ES] = 0.67) of FMD was observed in those receiving 200mg CUR (Pre, 7.6±3.2%; Post, ↑10.4±3.5%; p=0.011). FMD improvement (↑2.8±3.3%) was beneficial compared to PLA (↓−0.8±5.4%; p=0.020). No change was observed in those receiving 50MG CUR (Pre, 8.2±3.3%; Post, ↑9.1±2.7%; p=0.405). Twenty‐five (PLA, n=8; 50MG, n=7; 200MG, n=10) had baseline FMD <7%. Supplementation resulted in improvement of very large magnitude (ES > 2.0) in those receiving 50MG (Pre, 4.9±1.4%; Post, 8.1±1.6%; p=0.029) and 200MG (Pre, 5.2±1.1%; Post, ↑8.9±3.5%; p=0.005). These data demonstrate 200mg CUR improves FMD (endothelial function) in healthy young subjects. Further, in those with baseline FMD ≤7% FMD (at risk) 50mg CUR and 200mg CUR improves endothelial function. Given every 1% increase in FMD reduces cardiovascular disease risk by 9–17%; further research in clinical populations is recommended to clarify the true nature of the effect and potential mechanism(s).Support or Funding InformationOmniActive Health Technologies Ltd. Mumbai, India