A noticeably increasing number of patients are asking for naturally based extracts and ingredients as supplementary dermatologic remedies. Patients are seeking natural and cost-effective skin care alternatives in place of prescription medications and procedures. Our study will evaluate the effects of oral curcumin and turmeric on sebum production in healthy subjects.
Turmeric extracts and curcumin have been shown to be safe, even at high doses without significant side-effects. Previous clinical studies in other inflammatory skin diseases have shown that a dosage of curcumin at 6,000 mg daily was effective while lower doses were not. In a human phase I clinical trial examining the effects of high dose curcumin in preventing premalignant lesions, even curcumin doses as high as 8,000 mg/day resulted in no toxic effects after 3 months. This study will involve participant ingestion of 6,000 mg/day of turmeric or curcumin to assess how this affects their sebum production. The investigators will also be collecting stool from the study subjects, and examining how the curcumin and turmeric may modulate their gut microbiome. The investigators will specifically be looking to see if curcumin or turmeric have any changes on the gut flora towards bacteria that produce more short chain fatty acids. Certain bacteria that make up the microbiome produce short chain fatty acids, such as butyrate and propionate, which have demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties. Thus, it would be interesting to see if turmeric or curcumin exert any of its anti-inflammatory effects via modulation of the microbiome.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
30
University of California, Davis Dermatology Clinical Trials Unit
Sacramento, California, United States
Sebum production
Sebutapes will be used to measure sebum production at each visit. The sebutapes will then be collected and analyzed for fatty acids and lipid production.
Time frame: 8 weeks
Change from Baseline in Sebum profile, such as inflammatory markers at 8 weeks
Time frame: 8 weeks
Change in stool microbiome diversity (optional collections for subjects) from baseline at 8 weeks
Time frame: 8 weeks
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