28 January 2024 | Viljemka Bučević Popović, Esma Karahmet Farhat, Ines Banjari, Antonia Jeličić Kadić and Livia Puljak
This study examines whether systematic reviews on curcumin considered the bioavailability of oral curcumin formulations when synthesizing evidence from human clinical trials. A total of 171 systematic reviews published between 2003 and 2022 were analyzed. The results show that only 3.5% of reviews included statistical subgroup or sensitivity analyses considering bioavailability, while 57% mentioned bioavailability in the discussion and 13% in the conclusion. Despite this, most systematic reviews did not adequately address the variable bioavailability of curcumin formulations, leading to potential biases in their conclusions. The study highlights the need for more rigorous methods in systematic reviews to account for bioavailability differences, as this factor significantly influences curcumin's health effects. The findings suggest that current systematic reviews on curcumin should be interpreted with caution due to insufficient consideration of bioavailability in their synthesis of evidence. The study also notes that many systematic reviews lack detailed reporting of study characteristics, participant details, and bioavailability-related data, which could affect the reliability of their conclusions. Overall, the study emphasizes the importance of incorporating bioavailability into the methods and results of systematic reviews to ensure accurate and reliable conclusions about curcumin's therapeutic potential.This study examines whether systematic reviews on curcumin considered the bioavailability of oral curcumin formulations when synthesizing evidence from human clinical trials. A total of 171 systematic reviews published between 2003 and 2022 were analyzed. The results show that only 3.5% of reviews included statistical subgroup or sensitivity analyses considering bioavailability, while 57% mentioned bioavailability in the discussion and 13% in the conclusion. Despite this, most systematic reviews did not adequately address the variable bioavailability of curcumin formulations, leading to potential biases in their conclusions. The study highlights the need for more rigorous methods in systematic reviews to account for bioavailability differences, as this factor significantly influences curcumin's health effects. The findings suggest that current systematic reviews on curcumin should be interpreted with caution due to insufficient consideration of bioavailability in their synthesis of evidence. The study also notes that many systematic reviews lack detailed reporting of study characteristics, participant details, and bioavailability-related data, which could affect the reliability of their conclusions. Overall, the study emphasizes the importance of incorporating bioavailability into the methods and results of systematic reviews to ensure accurate and reliable conclusions about curcumin's therapeutic potential.