• Gianni Belcaro, Mark Dugall, Roberta Luzzi, Morio Hosoi, Andrea Ledda, Beatrice Feragalli, Shu Hu, Apurba Ganguly, Roberto Eggenhoffner, Ambra Corti, and Luca Giacomelli.
• Irvine Vascular Labs, Chieti-Pescara University, Pescara, Italy - cardres@abol.it.
• Minerva Med. 2018 Apr 1; 109 (2): 88-94.

BackgroundCurcumin is a powerful anti-oxidant that can be used to treat inflammation and pain in chronic conditions such as osteoarthrosis (OA). Phytoproflex® is characterized by an innovative delivery system that improves bioavailability of curcuminoids and could be useful in the management of OA.MethodsThis 4-week registry included 56 patients with knee OA treated according to the best standard management for symptomatic OA. On top of that, 24 patients used Phytoproflex® supplement preparation (an extract containing boswellic acid 90%, curcumin 20% and valeric acid 0.8%). Patients' control of symptoms and functional capacity were evaluated through the Karnofsky Scale and standardized treadmill test, together with measurement of oxidative stress levels and use of rescue medication.ResultsNo problems of tolerability or safety were reported among subjects using the supplement. After 4 weeks, patients treated with the supplement reported a significant decrease in pain (P<0.05), and a significant improvement in the fitness scale (P<0.05), indicating that subjects were able to perform normal daily tasks. Less subjects in the supplement group had to use rescue medication (P<0.05), while oxidative stress levels, which were high at inclusion, significantly decreased in both groups (P<0.05). Moreover, the variation in pain-free walking distance and the Karnofsky Scale were significantly more improved (P<0.05) in patients taking the supplement compared to controls.ConclusionsThis preliminary registry study indicates that Phytoproflex® can be safely used as an effective, supplementary management in most OA patients.

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