Curcumin is a substance found in the spice turmeric. In test-tube studies it has been shown to inhibit HIVs long terminal repeat (LTR), part of the viral DNA that controls its genetic information. The LTR has to be activated before latent HIV in infected cells can become active and reproduce.

Two small clinical trials have reached conflicting conclusions. One, conducted by the Search Alliance (now the AIDS ReSearch Alliance) in Los Angeles observed a reduction in viral load among people taking curcumin. However, a clinical trial by the Community Research Initiative of New England found no evidence that either high or low doses of curcumin led to decreases in viral load or changes in CD4 cell counts among HIV-positive people.

For details of a small study of curcumin in combination with other herbs, see the entry on bitter melon.

Key research

Li reported that in vitro curcumin inhibited p24 antigen production in acutely infected PBMC.

Hellinger enrolled 40 HIV-positive people in an open label trial of two doses of oral curcumin (4800 or 2700 mg/day). No effects on HIV viral load or CD4 cell count were seen during eight weeks of therapy.

References

Hellinger JA et al. Phase I/II randomized, open-label study of oral curcumin safety, and antiviral effects on HIV-RT PCR in HIV+ individuals. Third Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, Washington, abstract 140, 1996.

Li CJ et al. Three inhibitors of type 1 human immunodeficiency virus long terminal repeat-directed gene expression and virus replication. PNAS 90:1839-1842, 1993.