Does Turmeric help mood? (Grade C evidence)
Turmeric may modestly help mood in specific populations (Grade C, low certainty), especially in adults with depression. Dose range: 500–1000 mg curcumin/day.
Exact question reviewed
- Population
- adults with depression
- Intervention
- Turmeric · 500–1000 mg curcumin/day
- Comparator
- not reported
- Outcome
- mood
- Time horizon
- not reported
Bottom line. Turmeric may modestly help mood in specific populations (Grade C, low certainty), especially in adults with depression. Dose range: 500–1000 mg curcumin/day. [1 RCT]
- Direction
- benefit
- Magnitude
- curcumin may reduce depressive symptoms as an adjunct; bioavailability-limited
- Grade
- C
- Certainty
- low
- Clinical meaning
- small but potentially useful
- Who it applies to
- adults with depression
- Dose / form studied
- 500–1000 mg curcumin/day
- Safety
- moderate_with_warfarin
- The one limitation
- Claim-specific limitation details are not available in this public record.
Reviewed · Evidence last changed · Claim clm_ec_b2-turmeric-mood v0
⚠ Safety in context
- moderatewith Warfarin: High-dose curcumin may have mild antiplatelet effects; caution with warfarin. full interaction →
Grade C / low: hints of benefit in small trials; a well-run RCT could easily push this to B or to null.
Who it works for
Best-studied in adults with depression. Recorded studied dose: 500–1000 mg curcumin/day.
Evidence
| Study | Design | Role | Cite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical Use of Curcumin in Depression: A Meta-Analysis. | peer-reviewed | not classified | PMID:28236605 |
Why this grade
Reasoning trace
The current record stores Grade C at low certainty and links 1 publishable source. A claim-specific domain-by-domain grading rationale is not available in this public record, so no reason for upgrading or downgrading is inferred here.
Audit and version
- Claim ID
- ec_b2-turmeric-mood
- Claim version
- not reported
- Governance
- legacy, not verified
- Last evidence search
- not reported
- Last editorial review
- 2026-06-05T02:57:53.365Z
Dose & form
Studied intake: 500–1000 mg curcumin/day.
How it stacks up for mood
- Turmeric vs Vitamin D for mood — Vitamin D Grade C
- Turmeric vs St. John's Wort for mood — St. John's Wort Grade B
- Turmeric vs 5-HTP for mood — 5-HTP Grade C
- Turmeric vs N-Acetylcysteine for mood — N-Acetylcysteine Grade C
- Turmeric vs Saffron for mood — Saffron Grade B
- Turmeric vs Folate for mood — Folate Grade —
- All interventions graded for mood →
Grade history
- C → CSource correction by Claude (b2 garbage-source correction): replaced an off-topic search-fallback source (published before the pump's topica details →
Re-review cadence: every 6 months (Grade C+) · next scheduled by · methodology v1.
Frequently asked
How long does Turmeric take to work for mood?
Trials of Turmeric for mood typically report effects within 2–4 weeks, though individual response varies. Studies rarely find benefit inside 1 week for chronic outcomes.
What dose was used in studies of Turmeric for mood?
Studied doses for Turmeric in mood trials cluster around 500–1000 mg curcumin/day. See the dose block for the specific range and how it varies by form.
Does Turmeric work for mood if I'm not deficient?
The effect concentrates in adults with depression. If your baseline is normal, expect a smaller effect than the trial averages.
Turmeric or the next-best alternative for mood?
See the compare block above for the head-to-head with the most-cited alternative. Grade + certainty differences matter more than any single trial.
Related
What this is — and is not
- Evidence description
- curcumin may reduce depressive symptoms as an adjunct; bioavailability-limited
- Substrate's interpretation
- The current reviewed record assigns Grade C at low certainty. A domain-by-domain rationale is shown only when recorded.
- Discuss with a clinician
- If you're on medication or have a condition that changes the calculus, bring the interaction & population blocks above to your pharmacist or prescriber before deciding.
- Individualized medical advice
- Not provided here or on any Substrate surface (API, agent tool, embed) — see YMYL policy.
Cite this page
Citation is encouraged. The proposed reuse license is CC-BY-4.0; status: pending-governance-ratification.
Plain-text citation
Substrate. Does Turmeric help mood? (Grade C). https://evidencebased.info/interventions/turmeric/mood. Updated 2026-07-16.
BibTeX
@misc{substrate_ventionsturmericmood,
author = {Substrate editorial},
title = {Does Turmeric help mood?},
year = {2026},
url = {https://evidencebased.info/interventions/turmeric/mood},
note = {Grade C, evidencebased.info}
}Found something wrong on this page? Report an error →