The effect of curcuma on improvement of clinical symptoms of patients with irritable bowel syndrome

Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) which is characterized by chronic abdominal pain and changes in bowel movements is the most common gastrointestinal disease. Curcuma is one of the traditional medications which has been considered in treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. In this study, the effects of curcuma on IBS were investigated. Materials and Methods: In a double-blind randomized study, 140 IBS patients after meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria, regardless of sex and age and based on internist’s diagnosis, were involved. The patients were randomly divided into case (curcuma) and control (placebo) groups which included 69 and 71 patients, respectively. For converting subjective criteria to objective ones, treatment forms were filled out before the treatment and two and four weeks after the treatment according to visual analog scale. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and t-test. Results: Using curcuma and placebo before the treatment and two and four weeks after that improved patients’ clinical symptoms except for vomiting (p=0.001); however, no significant differences were observed in the effectiveness of placebo and curcuma on improvement of clinical symptoms of patients in case and control groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: Using curcuma does not offer any significant differences in controlling and reducing the symptoms of IBS in comparison to the placebo, but its application improves the clinical symptoms of IBS patients.