1. Introduction
respiratory illness, inflammation, reinfection, infections
INFLAMMATION, INFECTIONS, COVID-19 INFECTION, CORONAVIRUS, MAY, REINFECTION, CRITICAL ILLNESS, REGRESSION, BLOOD, INFLAMMATORY DISEASE
COVID-19 infection and vaccination offer disparate levels of defense against reinfection and breakthrough infection. This study was designed to examine the effects of curcumin supplementation, specifically HydroCurc (CURC), versus placebo (CON) on circulating inflammatory biomarkers in adults who had previously been diagnosed with COVID-19 and subsequently received a primary series of monovalent vaccine doses. This study was conducted between June 2021 and May 2022. Participants were randomized to receive CURC (500 mg) or CON capsules twice daily for four weeks. Blood sampling was completed at baseline and week-4 and analyzed for biomarkers. Linear regression was utilized to examine the between-group differences in post-trial inflammatory biomarker levels, adjusting for baseline and covariates including age, sex, race/ethnicity, and interval between COVID-19 diagnosis and trial enrollment. The sample (SARS-CoV-2 is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA coronavirus which causes the respiratory illness COVID-19, first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. Since 2019, over 750 million individuals worldwide have been diagnosed with COVID-19, with infections ranging from asymptomatic to critical illness [Importantly, the presence of elevated inflammation has been demonstrated to impact COVID-19 outcomes and prolonged inflammation and viral persistence have been demonstrated in convalescent patients [In this context, curcumin, a polyphenolic compound derived from the rhizomes of turmeric (However, the attempts to translate findings from mechanistic studies of curcumin in clinical trials examining its effects on inflammation in healthy individuals and those with inflammatory diseases have yielded inconsistent results [Given the immunomodulatory mechanisms of curcumin and the rise in breakthrough infections coinciding with the emergence SARS-CoV-2 variants, curcumin may offer anti-inflammatory and prophylactic benefits in healthy individuals with a history of prior COVID-19 infection who received the COVID-19 vaccine. In this context, the research aimed to contribute to the literature related to curcumin in a novel manner, and to examine the effects of four weeks of curcumin supplementation on circulating mediators of inflammation in healthy adults who previously tested positive for COVID-19 and subsequently received a primary series of monovalent vaccine doses, compared to a placebo control. Further, we utilized a novel formulation of curcumin, specifically HydroCurc, which has been shown to significantly increase the absorption of curcumin compared to a standard form [