SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Clinical Nutrition
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1655775
This article is part of the Research TopicNatural Bioactives: A Promising Avenue for Metabolic Syndrome TherapyView all 4 articles
Effects of Curcumin on Dyslipidemia and Body Mass Index in Metabolic Disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Provisionally accepted
- Chongqing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Chongqing, China
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Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effects of curcumin on blood lipid levels and body mass index (BMI) in patients with metabolic diseases. Methods: A systematic database search identified 587 records, from which 11 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 662 participants were included. The analysis evaluated changes in triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and BMI. Both fixed-effects models (FEM) and random-effects models (REM) were used for statistical analysis. Funnel plot asymmetry tests (Begg and Egger), Baujat, and Galbraith analyses assessed heterogeneity and potential publication bias. Cochrane RevMan (version 2.0) evaluated the risk of bias. Results: Curcumin supplementation significantly reduced TG levels (mean difference [MD]: -16.76 mg/dL, REM), TC levels (MD: -10.59 mg/dL, FEM), and BMI (MD: -0.94 kg/m² in both models). However, no significant effect was found for HDL-C and LDL-C under the random-effects model, whereas fixed-effects models showed variable results, highlighting the inconsistency and the need for further investigation. For HDL-C, the random-effects model (REM), which accounts for high heterogeneity (I² = 83%), showed no significant change (MD: -1.90 mg/dL, p = 0.11), while the fixed-effects model (FEM) indicated a modest increase. Due to substantial between-study variability, the REM results are more reliable and suggest no consistent effect of curcumin on HDL-C levels. For LDL-C, the random-effects model (REM), which accommodates high heterogeneity (I ² = 67%), showed no
Keywords: Curcumin, Blood lipid, Body Mass Index, Metabolic Diseases, Meta
Received: 06 Jul 2025; Accepted: 30 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Fang, Qin, Li, Liu and Wu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jinlin Wu, wujinlin1987@163.com
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