Effects of Curcumin Supplementation on Inflammatory Markers, Muscle Damage, and Sports Performance during Acute Physical Exercise in Sedentary Individuals

Table 2

Main characteristics of the studies included in the systematic review.

Author, year, country	Sample characteristics	Study design	Intervention characteristics	Follow-up	Exercise test	Main results (curcumin vs. control groups)
						Primary outcome	Secondary outcome
Tanabe et al. (2015); Japan	: 14 young individuals; Gender: M: 14; Age: years old; Weight:	Single-blind crossover randomized controlled trial	G1: 300 mg/day of curcumin (Theracurmin-Theravalues®); G2: 300 mg/day of placebo (starch)	1 day; Capsules administered 1 h before (150 mg) and 12 h after exercise (150 mg)	50 maximal eccentric contractions of the elbow flexors separated by 4 weeks	↔ IL-6, TNF-α; ↓ CK; ↔ muscle pain; ↔ ROM; ↑ MVC torque	↔ Total work, mean peak torque, upper-arm circumference
McFarlin et al. (2016); USA	: 28 young individuals; Gender: M: 10; W: 18; Age: G1: years old; G2: 19 years old; Weight: G1: G2:	Double-blind randomized controlled trial	G1: 400 mg/day of curcumin (long-life); G2: 400 mg/day of placebo (rice flour)	6 days; 48 h before exercise and for 72 h after	6 series of 10 repetitions of eccentric exercise (leg press) with initial load set at 110% of the estimated 1RM	↓ IL-8 and TNF-α; ↔ IL-6 and IL-10; ↓ CK; ↔ muscle pain	↔ ADL
Tanabe et al. (2019a); Japan	: 24 healthy adults; Gender: M: 24; Age: PRE: years old; POST: years old; CON: years old; Weight: PRE: POST: CON:	Single-blind parallel randomized trial	PRE: 180 mg/day of curcumin capsules (Theracurmin-Theravalues®); POST: 180 mg/day of curcumin (Theracurcumin-Theravalues®); CON: 180 mg/day of placebo	PRE: 7 days before exercise; POST: 4 days after exercise; CON: 4 days after exercise	30 eccentric contractions of the elbow flexors	↔ CK (PRE and POST); ↓ muscle pain on POST; ↑ ROM on POST; ↔ MVC torque, ROM initially	↔ total work during exercise
Tanabe et al. (2019b); Japan	: 20 healthy adults; Gender: M: 20; Age: Exp 1: years old; Exp 2: years old; Weight: Exp 1: Exp 2:	Double-blind crossover, randomized controlled trial	Exp 1: G1: 180 mg/day of curcumin capsules (Theracurmin-Theravalues®); G2: placebo (starch); Exp 2: G1: 180 mg/day of curcumin capsules (Theracurmin-Theravalues®); G2: placebo (starch)	Exp 1: 7 days before exercise; Exp 2: 7 days after exercise	30 eccentric contractions of the elbow flexors	Exp 1: ↓ IL-8; ↔ TNF-α; ↔ CK, muscle pain; ↔ MVC, ROM; Exp 2: ↔ IL-8, TNF-α; ↓ CK, muscle pain; ↑ MVC torque, ROM	Exp 1: ↔ total work during exercise, d-ROMs, T2, BAP; Exp 2: ↔ total work during exercise, d-ROMs, T2, BAP
Wang et al. (2019); China	: 12 healthy young individuals; Gender: W: 12; Age: years old; Weight: G1: G2:	Double-blind, parallel, randomized, controlled trial	G1: 230.9 mg/day of NCE; G2: 15 g/day placebo (maltodextrin)	4 weeks	A single test of 3 repetitions of drop jumps high (DJH) 70%, 100% (defined as the highest jump height), and 130%; Acute bicycle challenge for 15 minutes	↔ CK; ↓ lactate, NH3, knee injury index; ↑ contact time drop jumps (muscle strength)	↓ ALT, ALP, TG; ↑ HDL-c; ↔ AST, LDH, albumin, glucose

↑: statistically significant increase; ↔: change without statistical significance; ↓: statistically significant decrease; M: men; W: women; CK: creatine kinase; IL-6: interleukin-6; IL-8: interleukin-8; IL-10: interleukin-10; TNF-α: tumor necrosis factor-alpha; MVC torque: maximum voluntary contraction torque; ROM: range of motion; ALT: alanine aminotransferase; ALP: alkaline phosphatase; AST: aspartate aminotransferase; TG: triglycerides; HDL-c: high-density lipoprotein; LDH: lactate dehydrogenase; ADL: activities of daily living; T2: transverse relaxation time; d-ROMs: derivatives of reactive oxygen metabolites; BAP: biological antioxidant potential; Exp: experiment; PRE: PRE group; POST: POST group; CON: control group; NCE: nanobubble water curcumin extract; RM: repetition maximum.