Earlier clinical improvement in mild-moderate acute COVID patients treated with pharmacological-grade Curcumin
Antonia Célia De Castro Alcântara, Daniele Leite Cunha De Queiroz, Ana Carolina M Dinelly Pinto, Marcos Renato De Assis, Hermano Alexandre Lima Rocha, Francisco Rocha
doi:10.22541/au.174904567.74543434/v1
Heavy curcumin consumers apparently had a lower-than-expected COVID-19 death rate. Curcumin modulates angiotensinconverting enzyme expression, which may impair SARS-CoV-2 entry into host cells. Our data show that curcumin provides earlier recovery in acute COVID-19. Curcovid was an observational study conducted from Mar21-May22. Individuals > 18 years, with [?]2 days of symptoms, seen at Emergency Room or Telehealth system with positive SARS-Cov-2 PCR and mild/moderate disease were invited to immediately add a pharmaceutical-grade curcumin formulation (1g/d/10 days) alongside usual care. Primary outcomes were self-reported time to symptom relief and judgement of full recovery. Patients who used curcumin were compared to those who did not add the compound to their treatment regimen (Control). There were 73 and 58 patients in usual care and curcumin groups, respectively; mean age was 44.9 ± 13.9 years-old with 52 (39.7%) male; 3 days after study entry, fewer patients using curcumin had dyspnea (p=0.0164); systolic BP and serum creatinine were lower in curcumin group (p=0.0035 and 0.038, respectively). Time for symptom relief was 6.6±2.4 and 4.2±4 days in control and curcumin groups, respectively (p<0.0001); time for complete recovery was 12.4±5.3 and 7.8±6.7 days in control and curcumin groups, respectively (p<0.0001). No serious adverse events reported in both groups. Early administration of curcumin reduced time for complete recovery in acute COVID-19.
Author Contributions statement: ACCA conceived, conducted, processed the data, and wrote the manuscript; DLCQ conducted and processed the data of the protocol; HALR statistical analysis; MRA and ACMDP analysed the data; FACR conceived, conducted, processed the data, and wrote the manuscript; all authors read, revised, and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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