Efficacy of curcumin/turmeric on inflammation and oxidative stress in prediabetes and type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis.

Authors

Hossein Bahari, Kosar Omidian, Zahra Asadi, Haniyeh Golafrouz, Hossein Rafiei

Published in

Inflammopharmacology. Nov 15, 2025. Epub Nov 15, 2025.

Abstract

Chronic inflammation and oxidative stress are central to the development and progression of prediabetes and diabetes. Curcumin, the main bioactive component of turmeric, exhibits anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, though evidence from human randomized controlled trials (RCTs) remains inconsistent. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the effects of curcumin/turmeric supplementation on inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers in individuals with prediabetes and diabetes. Comprehensive searches of PubMed, ISI Web of Science, and Scopus up to August 2025 identified RCTs comparing curcumin/turmeric supplementation with controls, reporting biomarkers such as C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC). Data from 31 effect sizes across 28 RCTs were pooled using a random-effects model, with subgroup and meta-regression analyses to explore heterogeneity. Curcumin/turmeric supplementation significantly reduced CRP (SMD: - 0.50), TNF-α (SMD: - 1.70), IL-6 (SMD: - 2.97), and MDA (SMD: - 1.31), while significantly increasing GSH (SMD: 1.72) and TAC (SMD: 1.03). Greater improvements in CRP, GSH, and TAC were observed with unformulated curcumin and higher doses (≥ 1 g/day). Publication bias was detected for CRP and GSH, and the overall certainty of evidence was rated low for all biomarkers due to substantial heterogeneity. In conclusion, curcumin/turmeric supplementation may beneficially modulate inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers in prediabetes and diabetes, though further high-quality, large-scale RCTs are needed to confirm these findings and determine optimal formulations and dosages.

PMID:
41240262
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 15 Nov 2025.

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