This study showed up today.
Phytother Res. 2013 Jul 6.
Efficacy and Safety of Curcumin in Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Sanmukhani J, Satodia V, Trivedi J, Patel T, Tiwari D, Panchal B, Goel A, Tripathi CB.
Department of Pharmacology, Government Medical College, Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India.
Curcumin, an active ingredient of Curcuma longa Linn (Zingiberaceae), has shown potential antidepressant-like activity in animal studies. The objectives of this trial were to compare the efficacy and safety of curcumin with fluoxetine in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Herein, 60 patients diagnosed with MDD were randomized in a 1:1:1 ratio for six weeks observer-masked treatment with fluoxetine (20 mg) and curcumin (1000 mg) individually or their combination. The primary efficacy variable was response rates according to Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, 17-item version (HAM-D17 ). The secondary efficacy variable was the mean change in HAM-D17 score after six weeks. We observed that curcumin was well tolerated by all the patients. The proportion of responders as measured by the HAM-D17 scale was higher in the combination group (77.8%) than in the fluoxetine (64.7%) and the curcumin (62.5%) groups; however, these data were not statistically significant (P = 0.58). Interestingly, the mean change in HAM-D17 score at the end of six weeks was comparable in all three groups (P = 0.77). This study provides first clinical evidence that curcumin may be used as an effective and safe modality for treatment in patients with MDD without concurrent suicidal ideation or other psychotic disorders.
PMID: 23832433
There are a number of other studies comparing curcumin and fluoxetine.
http://pmid.us/curcumin+fluoxetine
Curcumin produces antidepressant effects via activating MAPK/ERK-dependent brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression in the amygdala of mice.
Zhang L, Xu T, Wang S, Yu L, Liu D, Zhan R, Yu SY.
Behav Brain Res. 2012 Nov 1;235(1):67-72.
PMID: 22820234
Evaluation of antidepressant-like activity of novel water-soluble curcumin formulations and St. John's wort in behavioral paradigms of despair.
Kulkarni SK, Akula KK, Deshpande J.
Pharmacology. 2012;89(1-2):83-90.
PMID: 22343362
Evaluation of antidepressant like activity of curcumin and its combination with fluoxetine and imipramine: an acute and chronic study.
Sanmukhani J, Anovadiya A, Tripathi CB.
Acta Pol Pharm. 2011 Sep-Oct;68(5):769-75.
PMID: 21928724
Curcumin inhibits glutamate release in nerve terminals from rat prefrontal cortex: possible relevance to its antidepressant mechanism.
Lin TY, Lu CW, Wang CC, Wang YC, Wang SJ.
Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2011 Aug 15;35(7):1785-93.
PMID: 21741425
Curcumin prevents corticosterone-induced neurotoxicity and abnormalities of neuroplasticity via 5-HT receptor pathway.
Xu Y, Li S, Vernon MM, Pan J, Chen L, Barish PA, Zhang Y
J Neurochem. 2011 Sep;118(5):784-95.
PMID: 21689105
Fluoxetine attenuates the inhibitory effect of glucocorticoid hormones on neurogenesis in vitro via a two-pore domain potassium channel, TREK-1.
Xi G, Zhang X, Zhang L, Sui Y, Hui J, Liu S, Wang Y, Li L, Zhang Z.
Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2011 Apr;214(3):747-59.
PMID: 21069514
Antidepressant-like effects of curcumin on serotonergic receptor-coupled AC-cAMP pathway in chronic unpredictable mild stress of rats.
Li YC, Wang FM, Pan Y, Qiang LQ, Cheng G, Zhang WY, Kong LD.
Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2009 Apr 30;33(3):435-49.
PMID: 19302828
Antidepressant activity of curcumin: involvement of serotonin and dopamine system.
Kulkarni SK, Bhutani MK, Bishnoi M.
Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2008 Dec;201(3):435-42.
PMID: 18766332
The antidepressant effects of curcumin in the forced swimming test involve 5-HT1 and 5-HT2 receptors.
Wang R, Xu Y, Wu HL, Li YB, Li YH, Guo JB, Li XJ.
Eur J Pharmacol. 2008 Jan 6
PMID: 17942093
