Nanomicelle curcumin improves oxidative stress, inflammatory markers, and assisted reproductive techniques outcomes in endometriosis cases: a randomized clinical trial

We studied the effect nanomicelle curcumin on oxidative stress markers, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and assisted reproductive techniques (ART) outcomes in endometriosis cases. This randomized controlled trial was conducted on 50 women with endometriosis at the age of 25–35 candidate for ART referred to Roya Infertility Center in Qom, Iran, 2022. The participants were allocated to intervention (n = 25) and control (n = 25) groups by the blocked randomization method. Nanomicelle curcumin with a dose of 120 mg per day was given to the intervention group twice a day for 10 weeks, and the placebo with the same dose was given to the control group. Follicular fluid (FF) samples were collected from women with endometriosis stage III/IV undergoing ART. Antioxidant enzyme (MDA, SOD, CAT, and TAC) and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-8 and TNF-a) were tested. ART results such as (number of oocyte received, high-quality embryo, and pregnancy outcomes) were compared between two groups. Increased serum levels of TAC, CAT, and SOD were observed after nanomicelle curcumin treatment. Furthermore, FF levels of MDA, IL-8, and TNF-a reduced significantly after treatment in nanomicelle curcumin. Nanomicelle curcumin supplementation led to an improved number of oocytes retrieved, number of mature (MII) oocytes, fertilization, cleavage, and high-quality embryos. Nanomicelle curcumin treatment can modulate stress oxidative and inflammation in endometriosis-induced infertile patients. ART outcomes also improved after nanomicelle curcumin therapy. Our results suggest that nanomicelle curcumin can be a therapeutic target for infertile patients with endometriosis. Similar content being viewed by others Data availability All source data for this work (or generated in this study) are available upon reasonable request. Code availability Not applicable.

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This study was supported by IVF Unit of Infertility, and Research Center of the ACECR, Qom. Funding No funding. Author information Authors and Affiliations Contributions R. Jannatifar, E, Cheraghi, and A. Verdi, Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Visualization, Writing – original draft. E. Asa: Data curation, and Writing –editing. The authors declare that all data were generated in-house and that no paper mill was used. Corresponding author Ethics declarations Human ethics IR.ACECR.JDM.REC.1400.081 and IRCT20170923036334N4 Consent to participate Not applicable. Consent for publication Not applicable. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Additional information Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Rights and permissions Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law. About this article Cite this article Jannatifar, R., Asa, E., Cheraghi, E. et al. Nanomicelle curcumin improves oxidative stress, inflammatory markers, and assisted reproductive techniques outcomes in endometriosis cases: a randomized clinical trial. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch Pharmacol 398, 11933–11941 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00210-025-03958-7 Received: Accepted: Published: Version of record: Issue date: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00210-025-03958-7