ReviewBMJ open sport & exercise medicine2021
Therapeutic effects of turmeric or curcumin extract on pain and function for individuals with knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review.
Review in BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 83 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and safety of different curcumin formulations in osteoarthritis: an umbrella review of systematic reviews.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy of curcumin/turmeric on inflammation and oxidative stress in prediabetes and type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis.Inflammopharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- A Systemic Review on Nutraceutical Supplements used in the Management of Osteoarthritis.Recent advances in food, nutrition & agriculture · 2024Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of curcuminoids alone in alleviating pain and dysfunction for knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2022Pooled it
- Bioenhancer Assessment of Black Pepper with Turmeric on Self-Reported Pain Ratings in Adults: A Randomized, Cross-Over, Clinical Trial.Nutrients · 2026Trial
- Targeted Microbial Shifts and Metabolite Profiles Were Associated with Clinical Response to an Anti-Inflammatory Diet in Osteoarthritis.Nutrients · 2025Trial
- Superior Bioavailability of a Novel Curcumin Formulation in Healthy Humans Under Fasting Conditions.Advances in therapy · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Exploring the role of the NLRP3 Inflammasome in polycystic ovary syndrome: therapeutic potential of herbal medicines.Journal of ovarian research · 2026Review
- Nutritional Interventions in Osteoarthritis: Mechanisms, Clinical Evidence, and Translational Opportunities.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Protective effects of turmerosaccharides rich extract ofFrontiers in veterinary science · 2026Article
- A Scoping Narrative Review of Curcumin in Pain Medicine: The Need for Further Study.Integrative medicine (Encinitas, Calif.) · 2025Review
- Comparative Effects of Turmeric Secondary Metabolites Across Resorptive Bone Diseases.Metabolites · 2025Article
- The inflammatory potential of diet in adults with knee osteoarthritis: sex-specific associations with quality of life, sleep, fatigue and mental health.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- A randomized, double-blind, controlled study on the efficacy of an oral dietary supplement containing fish oil, ASU and phytotherapeutic extracts in canine osteoarthritis.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2025Article
- Climate change and primary care: how to reduce the carbon footprint of your practice.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025Article
- Efficacy and Safety of a Novel Low-Dose Water-Dispersible Turmeric Extract in the Management of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- Complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine therapies for knee osteoarthritis: a visual analytics analysis of the research domain.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Integrative natural health solutions for midlife women.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Development of a Novel Co-Amorphous Curcumin and L-Arginine (1:2): Structural Characterization, Biological Activity and Pharmacokinetics.Pharmaceutics · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo determine whether supplementation with turmeric or curcumin extract effects pain and physical function in individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Second, we investigated the therapeutic response (pain and function) of turmeric compared with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
methodsA search was conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL and Cochrane Review. Inclusion criteria included randomised controlled trials reporting pain and physical function in humans with knee OA comparing turmeric therapy with NSAIDs or no therapy. Two reviewers screened 5273 abstracts. Risk of bias and quality were assessed via Cochrane Collaboration tool and CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) 2010, respectively.
resultsTen studies were included in the final analysis. Eight had high methodological quality and two were categorised as good with a mean CONSORT quality score of 21.1. Nine studies had adequate sequence generation and six had adequate allocation concealment. Participants and outcome assessors were blinded in eight studies. Three of the studies compared turmeric therapy to NSAIDs. All 10 studies showed improvement in pain and function from baseline with turmeric therapy (p≤0.05). In three studies comparing turmeric to NSAIDs, there were no differences in outcome scores (p>0.05). In all studies there were no significant adverse events in the turmeric therapy group.
conclusionCompared with placebo, there appears to be a benefit of turmeric on knee OA pain and function. Based on a small number of studies the effects are similar to that of NSAIDs. Variables such as optimal dosing, frequency and formulation remain unclear at this time.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.