Another study, published in the journal Phytotherapy Research in March, tested BCM-95 in 45 patients at a medical center in India and found two capsules daily had "comparable" efficacy to diclofenac sodium, a prescription anti-inflammatory, on two separate rating scales for pain, tenderness and disease severity.

WSJ: Flavor in Curry Favored by Some for Joint Pain

"Curcumin, no matter how we measured it, was either comparable to sodium diclofenac or slightly better, " says co-author Ajay Goel, director of the Department of Epigenetics and Cancer Research at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.

WSJ: Flavor in Curry Favored by Some for Joint Pain