Effects of curcumin in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Curcumin is an anti-inflammatory that is proposed to have a positive impact on patients with NAFLD.Objectives: We aim to assess the effects of curcumin in patients with NAFLD.Methods: Clinical trials from PubMed, Scopus, the Web of Science, and Cochrane CENTRAL with variables: alanine transferase, aspartate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, glycated hemoglobin (HBA1c), body mass index, waist circumference, total cholesterol, total glycerides, high-density lipoproteins, and low-density lipoproteins were included. Homogeneous and heterogeneous were analyzed under a fixed-effects model and the random-effects model, respectively.Results: Fourteen clinical trials found that curcumin has no statistically significant effect on alanine transferase (MD = -2.20 [-6.03, 1.63], p = 0.26], aspartate transaminase (MD = 1.37 [-4.56, 1.81], p = 0.4), alkaline phosphatase (MD = 3.06 [-15.85, 9.73], p = 0.64), glycated hemoglobin (HBA1c), (MD = -0.06 [-0.13, 0.02], p = 0.16], and body-mass index (MD = 0.04 [-0.38, 0.46], p = 0.86). Curcumin reduced the waist circumference (MD = -4.87 [-8.50, -1.25], p = 0.008). Lipid profile parameters were not significant, except the total glycerides (MD = -13.22 [-24.19, -2.24], p = 0.02).Conclusion: Curcumin significantly reduces total glycerides and waist circumference in NAFLD.