Effects of curcumin in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND

Curcumin is an anti-inflammatory that is proposed to have a positive impact on patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We aim to assess the effects of curcumin in patients with NAFLD.

METHODS

Clinical trials from PubMed, Scopus, the Web of Science, and Cochrane CENTRAL with variables alanine transferase, aspartate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, glycated hemoglobin (HBA1c), BMI, waist circumference, total cholesterol, total glycerides, high-density lipoproteins, and low-density lipoproteins were included. Homogeneous and heterogeneous were analyzed under a fixed-effects model and the random-effects model, respectively.

RESULTS

Fourteen clinical trials found that curcumin has no statistically significant effect on alanine transferase (MD = -2.20 [-6.03, 1.63], p = 0.26], aspartate transaminase (MD = 1.37 [-4.56, 1.81], p = 0.4), alkaline phosphatase (MD = 3.06 [-15.85, 9.73], p = 0.64), glycated hemoglobin (HBA1c), (MD = -0.06 [-0.13, 0.02], p = 0.16], and BMI (MD = 0.04 [-0.38, 0.46], p = 0.86). Curcumin reduced the waist circumference (MD = -4.87 [-8.50, -1.25], p = 0.008). Lipid profile parameters were not significant, except the total glycerides (MD = -13.22 [-24.19, -2.24], p = 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS

Curcumin significantly reduces total glycerides and waist circumference in NAFLD.