Background

Turmeric can provide a number of health benefits, including reduced inflammation. Since many chronic skin diseases involve inflammation, researchers investigated turmeric as a potential treatment.

The study

This systematic review included 11 clinical studies (eight of which were randomized controlled trials) that investigated the effects of oral turmeric supplementation on chronic skin diseases such as psoriasis, pruritus, oral lichen planus, facial redness, and some skin cancers. No quantitative analysis was performed due to significant methodological variation among studies.

The results

Overall, turmeric probably provided benefits in the context of chronic skin conditions, but more high quality research is required to explore these effects quantitatively. The treatment time ranged from 12 days to 24 weeks, and little to no toxicity was noted, which is promising for the treatment of long-term conditions, such as is the case with many skin conditions.

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This Study Summary was published on October 6, 2020.