Impact of Curcuma longa L. extract supplementation on the gut microbiota of hemodialysis patients.

Curcuma longa L. supplementation did not modify alpha biodiversity in hemodialysis patients.

• This was a secondary analysis of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
• Eleven patients participated: five in the curcumin group and six in the control group.
• The intervention lasted 12 weeks, administered three times per week after HD sessions.
• Fecal microbiota composition was estimated using short-read sequencing of the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene on the Illumina platform.

Curcuma longa L. supplementation did not alter the taxonomic composition of individuals at the phylum, family, or genus levels.

• The curcumin group consisted of 5 patients (66.7% male, 59 ± 16.7 years old, HD vintage of 97 ± 62.6 months, BMI 25.3 ± 2.9 kg/m2).
• The control group consisted of 6 patients (60% male, 57.5 ± 12.5 years old, HD vintage of 48.3 ± 32.2 months, BMI 25.2 ± 3.1 kg/m2).
• No significant differences in taxonomic composition were observed at any of the three taxonomic levels assessed.

The study protocol involved administering 100 mL of orange juice, 12 grams of carrot, and 2.5 grams of Curcuma longa L. three times per week after hemodialysis sessions.

• The intervention duration was 12 weeks.
• The control group received the same juice without added curcumin.
• This design was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
• Fecal microbiota was the primary outcome assessed in this secondary analysis.

The small sample size of 11 patients is acknowledged as a major limitation of this study.

• Only 11 patients total participated: 5 in the curcumin group and 6 in the control group.
• The authors state that 'these results should be interpreted taking into account the small sample size.'
• Future studies with larger cohorts are recommended by the authors.