Meriva Curcumin Ingredient May Support Musculoskeletal Function During High-Impact Activity, New Study Suggests

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Results from a newly released pilot study demonstrate that supplementation with curcumin delivered via a proprietary lecithin-based system (brand name Meriva, made by Indena, Milan, Italy) may be a safe means of maintaining musculoskeletal function during intense, high-impact physical activities, even over a short course of supplementation.

The study¹ involved 50 male subjects who play rugby and suffer musculoskeletal discomfort-that is, bone and muscle pain-resulting from repeated hard tackles, physical overload, or simply recurring episodes of acute pain. For five or 10 days, the subjects either supplemented every 12 hours with a Meriva-based product containing 2 g of  curcumin Phytosome (1 tablet containing 1g of Meriva) or received the best standard of care. Researchers evaluated discomfort perception (using the visual analog scale developed by Scott-Huskinsson) and loss of function (measured using a scale ranging from complete physical function to maximum impairment) at baseline and after 1, 3, 6, 10 and 20 days from the treatment’s initiation.

Results show that the supplement group not only exhibited excellent treatment adherence (96% versus 60%) and tolerability (96% versus 56%) relative to the control subjects, but that only one participant in the supplement group noted mild side effects compared to four in the control who reported gastric pain as an adverse event. Perhaps more importantly, even with short-term treatment, the supplement group showed an improvement in impaired physical functions and feelings of physical discomfort.

“Intense, high impact, physical activities are often associated with osteo-muscular conditions,” noted Antonella Riva, product research manager at Indena, in a press statement. Her company’s product, even at higher doses, “has been determined to be a safe and tolerable agent that could avoid the common gastric side effects associated with the use of many anti-inflammatory remedies that are the best standard management.”

Cosimo Palumbo, Indena’s marketing director, added: “Meriva is a best case of how modern science and ancient wisdom can lead to outstanding results. Our customers can count on our ongoing commitment in obtaining the best standardized extracts, whose safety and efficacy are scientifically proven by broad-based documentation.”

References:

1. Scaltrini S et al., “A naturally-inspired, curcumin-based lecithin formulation (Meriva formulated as the finished product Algocur) alleviates the osteo-muscular pain conditions in rugby players,” European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences, vol. 21, no. 21 (2017): 4935-4940