Editor's Note
Chronic knee pain is one of the most common reasons for medical consultation at primary care centers; turmeric extract and curcumin are used frequently for joint conditions. Curcumin has been found to be one of the most effective agents for pain reduction in patients with osteoarthritis in two recent meta-analyses that evaluated a large number of dietary supplements. Researchers here report results from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial conducted in healthy adult subjects who had experienced chronic knee pain following physical exertion.

A relatively low dose turmeric extract containing 60% natural curcuminoids and optimized for bioavailability was investigated. The study included men and women aged between 18 and 60 years, with a body mass index (BMI) of 18 to 30 kg/m2 having chronic knee pain for at least 2 months. Subjects were eligible if they had moderate pain with a VAS score of 4 or greater in the knee joint, and were willing to limit the use of analgesic and/or anti-inflammatory drugs only as a rescue medication until study completion. Intensity of knee pain was assessed using a 10-cm VAS, which has been a reliable and validated tool for the measurement of osteoarthritis knee pain, and several biochemical inflammatory markers were measured. The authors conclude this low-dose turmeric formulation alleviated pain and improved knee joint performance and mobility when administered over 3 months.
Abstract

Background
Knee pain causes functional limitations, eventually compromising the quality of life. We evaluated the efficacy of our water-dispersible turmeric formulation (60% natural curcuminoids, TurmXTRA 60N®—WDTE60N), which exhibited better PK profile at low dose (250 mg) than standard turmeric extract, in alleviating symptoms of chronic knee pain.

Methods
In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, subjects received either 250 mg WDTE60N capsule (150 mg curcuminoids; n = 53) or appearance-matched placebo capsule (n = 53) once daily for 90 days. Primary endpoint was change in pain score on the visual analogue scale (VAS) after 80-m fast-paced walk test.

Results
A total of 96 subjects completed the study. WDTE60N reduced VAS score from baseline (5.4 ± 0.9) to day 90 (3.8 ± 0.8) with greater mean reduction than placebo (−1.5 ± 0.7 vs −0.6 ± 0.8, p < 0.0001; 2.5 times). It also significantly improved the time taken for 80-m fast-paced walk test and 9-step stair-climb test; and improved all biomarkers compared to placebo (p > 0.05). Three adverse events occurred but were unrelated to study products.

Conclusion
WDTE60N 250 mg administered once daily for 3 months, alleviated knee pain, improved joint function in healthy subjects with chronic knee pain, was well tolerated and safe.
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