Effect of Curcumin and/or Nigella sativa‎ on bone density and quality of life in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis or osteopenia

Objectives This study aimed to assess the effect of Curcumin and/or Nigella sativa‎ on bone density parameters (primary outcome) and quality of life (secondary outcome) in postmenopausal women with primary osteoporosis or osteopenia. Design Randomized controlled trial with factorial design. Methods 120 postmenopausal women aged 50–65 years with primary osteoporosis or osteopenia were equally randomized into four groups receiving daily capsules for six months; 1) nanomicellar Curcumin 80 mg, 2) Nigella sativa‎ oil 1000 mg, 3) both, 4) placebo. All groups also received conventional treatments. In addition to the baseline assessment, bone mineral density (BMD), T-score, and Z-score were assessed at six months and quality of life (using the menopause-specific quality of life questionnaire) at two, four, and six months of the interventions. Results Five cases were lost to follow-up. No serious side events were reported. After the interventions, significant increases were observed in the femoral neck-BMD within all groups (p<0.01) as well as in the lumbar spine-BMD within the Nigella sativa and nanomicellar Curcumin-Nigella sativa groups (p<0.05). However, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of bone density parameters and overall quality of life score. In the Curcumin group, vasomotor dimension (adjusted difference −0.90, 95% CI: −1.62 to −0.18) and in the Nigella, sativa‎ group vasomotor (-0.76, −1.50 to −0.03) and physical (-0.61, −1.09 to −0.14) dimensions of quality of life score were significantly better than the placebo group. Conclusions The addition of Curcumin, Nigella sativa‎ oil, or their combination does not significantly improve bone density parameters and overall quality of life of postmenopausal women with primary osteoporosis or osteopenia compared to routine treatment, but it can improve vasomotor function of quality of life. We suggest conducting long-term interventions based on the results.