Curcumin and Teupolioside attenuate signs and symptoms severity associated to hirsutism in PCOS women: a preliminary pilot study

OBJECTIVE: Hirsutism affects 5-15% of women of reproductive age, with ap-proximately 80% of these women having poly -cystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The etiopatho-genesis of PCOS remains unclear, the clini-cal characteristics of PCOS include hyperan-drogenism, generally manifested as hirsutism and acne, and both these clinical symptoms are treated with oral contraceptive pills (OCPs), top-ical medications or antiandrogens. Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) and Plant sterols, such as a phenylpropanoid glycosides of Ajuga reptans, known as Teupolioside, have attracted consid-erable attention due to their pharmacological properties. Taking into consideration wide-rang-ing pharmacological and biological properties and the safety of herbal extracts, we proposed a combination of curcumin and teupolioside to evaluate the anti-androgenic properties in wom-en with PCOS and clinical signs of hyperandro-genism. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Six hyperandro-genic PCOS women with a hirsutism score (HS) > 20, according to Ferriman-Gallwey scoring system, were involved in the study. These wom-en were treated with a galenical preparation mixture containing curcumin and teupolioside and clinical features were assessed after 12 weeks. RESULTS: The nutraceutical combination con-taining curcumin/teopolioside ameliorated clin-ical manifestations associated to hyperandro-genism in women with PCOS after a 12-weeks treatment. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study suggests that a curcumin/teopolioside nutraceutical com-bination is beneficial for improving various clin- ical manifestations associated to abnormal hor-monal parameters in PCOS women, as well as signs and symptoms associated to hyperandro-genism.

Automated summary

The nutraceutical combination of curcumin and teupolioside is beneficial for improving various clinical manifestations associated with hyperandrogenism in women with PCOS.