A recent study depicted that for symptomatic management of patients having knee OA, a combination of curcuminoid complex and diclofenac showed a greater improvement in pain, symptoms, functional capacity, and quality of life when compared to diclofenac.

Adding curcuminoid complex to diclofenac helps to lower diclofenac-induced gastrointestinal side effects.  The combination is safer, more effective, and better tolerated when compared to diclofenac alone and could be a better alternative treatment choice.

A randomized, prospective, open-label parallel-group trial was conducted to compare the safety and efficacy of the combination of curcuminoid complex and diclofenac vs diclofenac alone in 140 patients having knee OA. Participants (aged 38–65 years) either received 500 mg curcuminoid complex (BCM-95) with 50 mg diclofenac two times daily or 50 mg diclofenac alone two times daily for 28 days. At baseline, day 14, and day 28, the patients were examined.

The Knee injury and OA outcome score (KOOS) subscale at day 14 and day 28 was the primary outcome measure. The secondary endpoints were anti-ulcer effect and patient-physician’s global assessment of therapy on day 28. By recording adverse events and laboratory investigations, safety after treatment was determined.

At each evaluation visit, both the treatment groups illustrated improvement in primary outcome measures. Compared to diclofenac, individuals treated with curcuminoid complex plus diclofenac demonstrated remarkably better improvement in KOOS subscales, viz. visual analogue scale (VAS) pain and quality of life at each study visit as depicted in the following figure:

In the curcuminoid complex plus diclofenac group, fewer patients required rescue analgesics, and histamine 2 (H2) blockers in comparison with diclofenac group. Adverse effects were significantly less in the curcuminoid complex plus diclofenac group when compared to the diclofenac group as depicted in the following table:

The patient’s and physician’s global assessment of therapy favored curcuminoid complex plus diclofenac than diclofenac.

Thus, a combination of curcuminoid complex and diclofenac is superior to diclofenac alone to treat knee OA patients.