Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30088420›Full record

ArticleJournal of evidence-based integrative medicine

Effects of Turmeric and Curcumin Dietary Supplementation on Human Gut Microbiota: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study.

Christine T Peterson, Alexandra R Vaughn, Vandana Sharma, Deepak Chopra, Paul J Mills, Scott N Peterson, Raja K Sivamani

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of evidence-based integrative medicine. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 94 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
94citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
5.3field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

94 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 162 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Trial
  6. Trial
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Curcumin Between Pleiotropic Potential and Translational Constraints.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Review
  10. Article
  11. Effect ofOpen veterinary journal · 2026
    Article
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Review
  19. Review
  20. Impact of curcumin on gut microbiome.World journal of experimental medicine · 2025
    Review

34 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.

Christine T Peterson1 University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Alexandra R Vaughn2 University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA.
Vandana Sharma4 Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Deepak Chopra1 University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Paul J Mills1 University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Scott N Peterson4 Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Raja K Sivamani2 University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA.
University of California, San Diego · USCalifornia State University, Sacramento · USDiscovery Institute · USDrexel University · USSanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute · USThe Chopra Foundation · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCurcuma longa (common name: turmeric) and one of its biologically active constituents, curcumin, have received increased clinical attention. Insufficient data exist on the effects of curcumin and turmeric on the gut microbiota and such studies in humans are lacking.

methodsTurmeric tablets with extract of piperine (Bioperine) (n = 6), curcumin with Bioperine tablets (n = 5), or placebo tablets (n = 3) were provided to healthy human subjects and subsequent changes in the gut microbiota were determined by 16S rDNA sequencing.

resultsThe number of taxa detected ranged from 172 to 325 bacterial species. The placebo group displayed an overall reduction in species by 15%, whereas turmeric-treated subjects displayed a modest 7% increase in observed species posttreatment. Subjects taking curcumin displayed an average increase of 69% in detected species. The gut microbiota response to treatment was highly personalized, thus leading to responders and nonresponders displaying response concordance. These "responsive" subjects defined a signature involving uniform increases in most Clostridium spp., Bacteroides spp., Citrobacter spp., Cronobacter spp., Enterobacter spp., Enterococcus spp., Klebsiella spp., Parabacteroides spp., and Pseudomonas spp. Common to these subjects was the reduced relative abundance of several Blautia spp. and most Ruminococcus spp.

conclusionsAll participants' microbiota displayed significant variation over time and individualized response to treatment. Among the responsive participants, both turmeric and curcumin altered the gut microbiota in a highly similar manner, suggesting that curcumin may drive the majority of observed changes observed in turmeric-treated subjects.

Indexed as

antioxidantcurcumingastrointestinalmicrobiotaturmeric

Identifiers

PMID30088420
PMCPMC6083746
OpenAlexW2886911960

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.