Bioenhancing Effects of Black Pepper With Turmeric on Pain Ratings

July 3, 2023 updated by: Daniel L. Smith, Jr., University of Alabama at Birmingham

Bioenhancing Effects of Black Pepper With Turmeric on Pain Ratings: a Randomized, Clinical Trial

Although multiple clinical trials have been reported studying the effects of turmeric and turmeric-derived curcuminoid containing extract on pain by various study designs (including both acute and chronic pain), with the most consistent positive pain reduction benefits at turmeric or curcuminoid levels above normal dietary intake estimates, studies assessing the combination of black pepper and turmeric at culinary relevant levels for pain remediation benefits are needed. As black pepper is reported to 'enhance' the effects of co-consumed compounds, we are testing whether consumption of black pepper alters the pain alleviating effects of turmeric when consumed at levels representative of potential dietary intakes.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
30

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Alabama
      • Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 35294
        • University of Alabama at Birmingham

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

40 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age: 40 or older
  • BMI: 20-40
  • Diet: No dietary prohibitions/allergies
  • 21-day availability
  • Moderate Pain Rating (self-reported numeric rating 4-7 on 10 pt scale)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Turmeric or Black Pepper Allergy, or any allergy that would prevent menu item selections for 7 days of feeding
  • Recent change in pain levels - e.g. acute injury
  • Known eating disorder
  • No access to a phone capable of text message, electronic device (phone, tablet, computer/laptop) with email and internet access
  • Inability to continue on protocol for 3 consecutive weeks.
  • Medical conditions (cardiovascular disease event within the past six months, severe pulmonary disease, renal failure, major liver dysfunction within the last 2 years, digestive disorders including gastric reflux, irritable bowel disease, Crohn's disease or related conditions current smoker or recently quit less than 6 months prior) or medications that would prevent the ability to comply with treatment assignment (e.g. blood thinners, arrhythmia control medications, prescription narcotic pain medications).
  • Use of estrogen or testosterone replacement therapy within the past 6 months,
  • Current use of oral corticosteroids > 5 days/month on average
  • Cold, flu, virus, allergy or other conditions that impairs sensory perceptions (taste and smell) which may impact protocol compliance
  • COVID19 positive status at time of enrollment
  • Consumes an average of ≥1 serving of turmeric per day, or has never consumed and/or would not be willing to consume turmeric
  • Consumes black pepper ≥ 3 servings per day and/or would not be willing to abstain from pepper consumption for the prescribed days during the study
  • Abstinence from or dislike of either turmeric or black pepper
  • Dependence on others for food procurement and preparation

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Turmeric, then Turmeric+Black Pepper
Participants first receive Turmeric (Turmeric provided at 300mg, 1g or 3g; n=10 subjects/amount with no black pepper) for 1 week. After a 1 week washout, participants then receive Turmeric at the previous amount plus Black Pepper (Turmeric provided at 300mg, 1g or 3g daily; n=10 subjects/amount and Black Pepper 300mg/subject daily) for 1 week.
Other: Turmeric
Three amounts of dietary turmeric will be tested: 1) turmeric 300 mg/day, 2) turmeric 1 g/day, 3) turmeric 3 g/day.
Other: Turmeric+Black Pepper
Three amounts of dietary turmeric (300mg/day, 1g/day or 3g/day) with black pepper (300 mg) added to the turmeric.
Experimental: Turmeric+Black Pepper, then Turmeric
Participants first receive Turmeric+Black Pepper (Turmeric provided at 300mg, 1g or 3g daily; n=10 subjects/amount and Black Pepper at 300mg/subject daily) for 1 week. After a 1 week washout, participants then receive Turmeric daily at the previous amount for 1 week (Turmeric provided at 300mg, 1g or 3g; n=10 subjects/amount with no black pepper).
Other: Turmeric
Three amounts of dietary turmeric will be tested: 1) turmeric 300 mg/day, 2) turmeric 1 g/day, 3) turmeric 3 g/day.
Other: Turmeric+Black Pepper
Three amounts of dietary turmeric (300mg/day, 1g/day or 3g/day) with black pepper (300 mg) added to the turmeric.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pain Intensity
Time Frame: 7 days
Self-reported pain according to Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), score from 0 = no pain, 10 = worst pain, within each 7-day intervention (placebo, turmeric, turmeric+black pepper)
7 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Physical Activity
Time Frame: 7 days
Minutes of physical activity per week at moderate and vigorous intensity physical activity levels, and minutes of sedentary behavior, assessed via accelerometry
7 days
Pain Survey
Time Frame: Once per week during the 3 week (21-day) study
Once per week during the 3 week (21-day) study
Insulin
Time Frame: Baseline and every 7 days during the 21-day study
(uU/ml)
Baseline and every 7 days during the 21-day study
C-reactive protein
Time Frame: Baseline and every 7 days during the 21-day study
(ug/ml)
Baseline and every 7 days during the 21-day study
IL-6
Time Frame: Baseline and every 7 days during the 21-day study
Interleukin 6 (pg/ml)
Baseline and every 7 days during the 21-day study
IL-10
Time Frame: Baseline and every 7 days during the 21-day study
Interleukin 10 (pg/ml)
Baseline and every 7 days during the 21-day study

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
McCormick Science Institute

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
February 13, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 30, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 16, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
December 13, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 24, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
January 25, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 5, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 3, 2023

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IRB-300005070

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Individual de-identified participant data (including data dictionaries) will be shared or made publicly available for any publication of findings.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Immediately following publication.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Public repository

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings