Curcumin and vitamin E improve hot flashes, lipid profile, and fasting blood glucose without any detrimental effect on the liver and renal function in postmenopausal women: A triple-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial

Abstract

We conducted this study to evaluate the efficacy of Curcumin and vitamin E on hot flashes, lipid profile, blood glucose, and hepatic & renal biomarkers. Eighty-four postmenopausal women were randomly assigned into three groups to receive one Curcumin 500 milligram, vitamin E 200 IU, or placebo capsules twice/daily/eight weeks. In comparison with placebo, vitamin E significantly decreased the number of hot flashes (P = 0.002), serum triglyceride (P < 0.001), and aspartate aminotransferase (P = 0.007), while it increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = 0.005). Curcumin decreased significantly fasting blood glucose (P = 0.007), total cholesterol (P = 0.015), and triglyceride (P = 0.007) compared to placebo. We conclude that vitamin E reduced the incidence of hot flashes by nearly one-third of the base amount. It improved serum lipid profile and aspartate aminotransferase. Curcumin ameliorated fasting blood glucose and serum lipid profile.

Acknowledgments

We appreciate Health Deputy, Nutrition Research Center, and all the women who participated in this study.

Authors’ contribution

AFKh contributed to the study design, data analysis, data interpretation, and writing the manuscript. SP and HRYN contributed to the study design, data interpretation, and revising of the manuscript. NJ and BSO contributed to the study design, data collection, and writing the manuscript. NK contributed to the study design, data collection, and writing the manuscript. All authors approved the final draft of the article.

Availability of data and materials

All data generated during this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study was approved by the ethics committee of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (IR.TBZMED.REC.1397.674).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Tabriz University of Medical Sciences [Grant no: 60466].