Curcumin Improves Endothelial Function in Young Adults, Study Suggests

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New study results shared by OmniActive Health Technologies (Morristown, NJ) suggest its CurcuWin curcumin extract enhances vascular function by improving flow-mediated dilation (FMD) in healthy young adults.

Writing in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, researchers report that adults aged 19–29 who supplemented with 1000 mg of CurcuWin for eight weeks experienced a significant improvement to FMD over baseline. FMD values, which are themselves measured by a percentage metric, increase by approximately 3% FMD over the course of the study to reach more than 10% FMD-an overall increase of 37%. The study, called FloMeD, also found an improvement to CMD at the 250-mg dosage level of 1.7%, although this outcome was not found to be “clinically decisive.”

Lower FMD values are associated with higher cardiovascular disease risk, OmniActive explains. “What’s really exciting about the FloMeD study is that CurcuWin may potentially reduce CVD risk by 27%–52% because every one percentage point increase in FMD potentially reduces cardiovascular risk by 9%–17%,” said Lynda Doyle, senior vice president of global marketing for OmniActive Health Technologies, in the study announcement.

The double-blind, placebo-controlled study included 59 healthy young adults who were randomized to consume a placebo, 250 mg of CurcuWin, or 1000 mg of CurcuWin, with the CurcuWin supplements containing 50 mg or 200 mg of curcumin, respectively. Researchers compared participant FMD levels at baseline with FMD levels following eight weeks of supplementation.

Additionally, in a subset population of study participants with baseline FMD of less than 7%, both the 250-mg and 1000-mg doses of CurcuWin resulted in a significant FMD increase of 3.3%-3.6% at the end of the eight-week experimental period.

OmniActive notes this study builds on past CurcuWin research indicating its curcumin extract may be up to 46 times more bioavailable than other forms of curcumin.

“We’re excited to show that this new study further supports how CurcuWin’s greater bioavailability correlates to efficacy at a lower dose and demonstrates a unique benefit for vascular and heart health,” Doyle says. “CurcuWin offers a great alternative to standard curcumin ingredients or when considering a bioavailable curcumin for your formulations.”

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Michael Crane
Associate Editor
Nutritional Outlook Magazine
michael.crane@ubm.com

References:

Oliver JM et al., “Novel form of curcumin improves endothelial function in young, healthy individuals: a double-blind placebo controlled study,” Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism. Published online July 17, 2016.