• Fatemeh Pourhabibi-Zarandi, Sara Shojaei-Zarghani, and Maryam Rafraf.
• Student Research Committee, Faculty of Nutrition and Food Science, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
• Int. J. Clin. Pract. 2021 Oct 1; 75 (10): e14280.

BackgroundCurcumin is a natural polyphenol and the main compound from the rhizome of Turmeric (Curcuma longa) and other Curcuma species. It has been widely used for different medical purposes, such as improvement of pain and inflammatory conditions in various diseases.PurposeThis systematic review was aimed to assess all studies regarding the efficacy of the pure form of curcumin (unformulated curcumin) on rheumatoid arthritis (RA).MethodsThe comprehensive search of the literature was done until September 2020 on the MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus and Web of Knowledge databases. Out of 2079 initial records, 51 articles (13 in vitro and 37 animal and one human) were met our inclusion criteria.ResultsMost studies have shown the curative effects of curcumin on clinical and inflammatory parameters of RA and reported different mechanisms; inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinase family, extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase, activator protein-1 and nuclear factor kappa B are the main mechanisms associated with the anti-inflammatory function of curcumin in RA. The results of the only human study showed that curcumin significantly improved morning stiffness, walking time and joint swelling.ConclusionIn conclusion, curcumin seems to be useful, and it is recommended that more human studies be performed to approve the cellular and animal results and determine the effective and optimal doses of curcumin on RA patients.© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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