Nasseri E, et al. - This study assessed the changes in oxidative stress markers subsequent to curcumin supplementation in β-Thalassemia patients. In β-thalassemia major patients, improved antioxidant status was noticed following curcumin supplementation combined with deferoxamin. Curcumin may be useful for the relief of metabolic complications in these patients.

Methods

• Researchers performed this double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial on 61 β-thalassemia major patients.
• Subjects in the curcumin group received two 500 mg curcumin capsules daily and patients in the placebo group took 2 placebo capsules daily for 12 weeks.  
• At the beginning and the end of intervention, researchers assessed dietary intakes and biochemical parameters.

Results

• They observed that at the end of the study, serum malondialdehyde (MDA), total and direct bilirubin significantly decreased (p = 0.002, p < 0.001, and p < 0.001, respectively) and total antioxidant capacity significantly increased (p = 0.005) in the curcumin group.
• Based on the analysis of covariance, they detected a significant reduction in MDA, total and direct bilirubin in the curcumin group when compared to the placebo group (p = 0.001, p = 0.039, and p = 0.013, respectively).
• Findings demonstrated that changes in hemoglobin, serum iron, ferritin, catalase, and vitamin E were not significant in any of the 2 groups.