Clinical trial finds curcuminoids plus piperine improve non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

01-Nov-2019 - Last updated on 01-Nov-2019 at 16:38 GMT

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The American Liver Foundation estimates at least 25% of the US population has nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition in which excess fat is stored in your liver. NAFLD is the most common chronic liver condition and currently there are no approved pharmaceutical treatments.

Sabinsa’s Curcumin C3 Complex was used in a new study on NAFLD, a disease associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality related to the liver and cardiovascular disease. While lifestyle modification is the first line of treatment, it’s not always possible to reverse NAFLD.

NAFLD is the most common cause of liver disease-related deaths, account for 34.7% of all such fatalities. Between 2007 and 2016, death rates increased from 7.6 to 9.0 per 100,000 population for NAFLD -- an average annual percentage change of 2.1%, according to the CDC.

Curcumin is a dietary phytochemical with liver-protecting properties, but its low bioavailability has proven to be a hurdle for clinical applications. In order to enhance bioavailability, researchers co-administered the curcumin with piperine, a black pepper extract. Sabinsa markets such a product under the brand name BioPerine.

Method

Six researchers were involved in the study, including Sabinsa founder Dr. Muhammed Majeed. The peer-reviewed paper was published in the Journal of Cellular Biochemistry.

Researchers enlisted 70 subjects in the randomized controlled parallel‐group trial. The participants, all with ultrasound‐determined NAFLD, were randomized to either 500 mg curcuminoids co-administered with 5 mg piperine daily or placebo for 12 weeks. NAFLD severity and liver function was assessed at baseline and at the study end.

Findings

The study suggests beneficial effects of combined curcuminoids and piperine supplementation on disease severity in patients with NAFLD.

The decrease in the severity of NAFLD in the subjects was gauged by hepatic sonography, and significant improvement was observed in several elevated liver function parameters in subjects treated with the C3 Complex and BioPerine combination. NAFLD severity was reduced in a statistically significant way in the treatment group compared to the placebo group. No adverse effect on the hematological parameters were found, showing the safety of the ingredients.

“We're encouraged by the researchers’ conclusion that combined supplementation of C3 Complex and BioPerine may provide a safe and viable method for curtailing the progress of NAFLD,” said Dr. Majeed.

Source:

Journal of Cellular Biochemistry

06 June 2019 doi.org/10.1002/jcb.28877

Curcuminoids plus piperine improve nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A clinical trial

Authors: Y. Panahi, et al.