The effects of curcumin intake on wound healing and metabolic status in patients with diabetic foot ulcer: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

This study was conducted to determine the effects of curcumin intake on wound healing and metabolic status in patients with diabetic foot ulcer (DFU). The current randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted among 60 patients with grade 3 DFU. Participants were randomly allocated into two groups (30 participants each group), received either 80 mg nanocurcumin daily for 12 weeks or placebo. Primary endpoints in this study were serum insulin levels and insulin resistance. Curcumin intake significantly decreased fasting plasma glucose (p = .02), insulin (p = .01), insulin resistance (p = .02), and significantly increased insulin sensitivity (p = .008) compared with the placebo. Moreover, curcumin intake led to a significant reduction in total- (p < .001), LDL-cholesterol (p < .001), and a significant increase in total antioxidant capacity (TAC) (p < .001) and total glutathione (GSH) (p = .01) compared with the placebo. However, there was no significant improvement in wound healing parameters. Overall, our study demonstrated that nanocurcumin intake in patients with DFU resulted in a significant improvement of glycemic control, total- and LDL-cholesterol, TAC, and GSH but did not affect the indicators of ulcer size.

Automated summary

The intake of nanocurcumin significantly improved glycemic control and cholesterol levels in patients with diabetic foot ulcers, but did not have a significant impact on wound healing parameters.