Effects of Curcumin Supplementation on Exercise Recovery, Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, Muscle Damage, and Performance in Exercise and Sport Contexts: A Systematic Review.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review of randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trials
PubMed 42356379 · doi:10.3390/nu18121992
What was done
A systematic review of randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trials was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, and Cochrane Library/CENTRAL (2012 to June 2026). The review included studies evaluating oral curcumin, curcuminoids, or Curcuma-derived preparations (alone or with bioavailability enhancers) on recovery outcomes in active individuals and athletes. Studies using artificial muscle-damage protocols, clinical populations, non-randomized designs, or combined bioactives were excluded. Methodological quality was evaluated using the PEDro scale, Cochrane RoB 2, and GRADE. Findings were synthesized narratively.
What was found
Fifteen trials were included. Favorable effects were reported in: - 6 of 7 studies assessing oxidative stress - 4 of 6 studies assessing muscle damage - 3 of 8 studies assessing inflammation - 3 of 7 studies assessing subjective recovery, soreness, or fatigue - 4 of 8 studies assessing physical or athletic performance No pooled effect sizes or numerical statistics were reported in the abstract. GRADE certainty of evidence was low for oxidative stress and very low for muscle damage, inflammation, subjective recovery/soreness/fatigue, and performance.
Why it matters
Despite widespread use and marketing for athletic recovery, evidence supporting curcumin's efficacy remains inconsistent across functional and physiological outcomes, with low to very low certainty.
Limits
The abstract reports narrative vote-counting rather than quantitative meta-analytic effect sizes due to substantial heterogeneity in participant training status, exercise protocols, curcumin formulations, doses, biomarkers, and timing of assessments. The primary studies were mostly small, with limited representation of high-performance athletes.
Cited by
- context Curcumin supplementation improves exercise performance by reducing inflammation.