Efficacy of Nanocurcumin as an Add-On Treatment for Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19: A Double-Blind, Randomized Clinical Trial

Background. Curcumin is a polyphenol derivative of the Curcuma longa rhizome, with potential antioxidant, anticancer, antidepressant, antiviral, and anti-in3ammatory e4ects.,is compound can be prepared as biodegradable polymer nanoparticles, called nanocurcumin, to improve its solubility, stability, half-life, and bioavailability. Aim. We explored nanocurcumin's e4ect on the clinical manifestations of patients hospitalized with mild-to-moderate COVID-19. Methods.,is double-blind, randomized clinical trial involved 76 COVID-19 patients admitted to Ali-Asghar Hospital from December 2021 to March 2022. All patients received standard coronavirus treatment as per national guidelines. In addition, four times a day for two weeks, the curcumin group received 40 mg of nanocurcumin, while the control group received a placebo. Clinical manifestations were examined and recorded by the associate doctors working in the department. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS v. 21. Results.,irty-nine people from the control group and 29 from the curcumin group completed the study. At baseline, the groups were comparable in age, gender, body mass index, hospitalization duration, and background diseases.,e mean age of patients in the control and treatment groups was 53.9 +/- 11.9 and 54.6 +/- 13.4, respectively. Compared with the placebo, nanocurcumin minimized coughs ( P= 0.036), fatigue ( P=0.0001), myalgia ( P= 0.027), oxygen demand ( P= 0.036), oxygen usage ( P= 0.05), and respiratory rate ( P < 0.0001). By discharge, the curcumin group had a signi@cantly greater increase in SPO2 than the control group ( P=0.006). Conclusions.,is preliminary study suggests that nanocurcumin has a potentiating anti-in3ammatory e4ect when combined with standard COVID-19 treatment, helping the recovery from the acute in3ammatory phase of the disease in hospitalized patients with mild-to-moderate disease severity.,is trial is registered with Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials: IRCT20211126053183N1 (registered while recruiting on 13/12/2021).