Therapeutic effects of curcumin and piperine combination in critically ill patients with sepsis: a randomized double-blind controlled trial
Assessed by RV007 · Professor of Health Services Research
Assessed on 5 Nov 2025
OverallReviewer's overall integrity assessment, derived from all research questions Some concerns
DOI 10.1186/s13063-025-08916-5 (opens in new tab)
Resource ripekg:research-integrity-assessment/RIPEA82B663F650C41F5F
5 Research Questions · 10 Evidence Items
Q1.1 — Does the study have an associated retraction?
Rationale: No concerns, not retracted.
Q1.2 — Does the study have an associated expression of concern or other relevant post-publication notice?
Rationale: No concerns.
Q1.3 — Do other studies by the research team highlight causes for concern?
Rationale: I'm not sure that Zahra Kiani flagged run one retraction is the same Zahra Kiani as authored this article. Conversely, Amirhossein Sahebkar is definitely the same author as on the seven retracted articles flagged. The author is senior author on many of the retracted publications too.
Supporting Evidence (8)
Retraction NoticeSource: Retraction Watch database
Therapeutic effect of nanoliposomal PCSK9 vaccine in a mouse model of atherosclerosis
10.1186/s12916-023-02884-w (opens in new tab)RetractionWatch ID:Record identifier in the Retraction Watch database 44538
Rationale: Manipulation of Images;Original Data and/or Images not Provided and/or not Available;Unreliable Data
About Author: Amirhossein Sahebkar
Retraction NoticeSource: Retraction Watch database
Synthesis, characterization and cytotoxicity evaluation of a novel magnetic nanocomposite with iron oxide deposited on cellulose nanofibers with nickel (Fe3O4@NFC@ONSM-Ni)†
10.1039/d3ra90131a (opens in new tab)RetractionWatch ID:Record identifier in the Retraction Watch database 50790
Rationale: Concerns/Issues about Third Party Involvement;Duplication of Data;Duplication of/in Image;Unreliable Data;Unreliable Results and/or Conclusions
About Author: Zahra Kiani
Retraction NoticeSource: Retraction Watch database
The therapeutic potential of human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells producing CXCL10 in a mouse melanoma lung metastasis model
10.1016/j.canlet.2024.216670 (opens in new tab)RetractionWatch ID:Record identifier in the Retraction Watch database 51535
Rationale: Duplication of/in Image;Investigation by Journal/Publisher;Investigation by Third Party;Original Data and/or Images not Provided and/or not Available;Unreliable Results and/or Conclusions
About Author: Amirhossein Sahebkar
Q2.2 — Are there concerns relating to the timing or absence of study registration?
Rationale: The dates look ok.
Supporting Evidence (2)
Clinical Trial RegistrationSource: Clinical trial registry (e.g. ClinicalTrials.gov, ISRCTN)
Registration ID: IRCT20150613022681N4
Registry: IRCT
Registry Link: https://trialsearch.who.int/Trial2.aspx?TrialID=IRCT20150613022681N4 (opens in new tab)
Registration Date: 2 Jan 2021
Prospective:Whether the trial was registered before participant recruitment began Yes
Assessment Rationale:How INSPECT-AI determined the prospective registration status by comparing dates Comparison performed at month level. Registration: 2021-01, LLM Recruitment Start: 2021-02. Deemed prospective at month level.
Study Design EvidenceDates and timelines extracted by INSPECT-AI from the publication text
Recruitment Start: 02-2021
Recruitment Start Rationale:INSPECT-AI's reasoning for how it identified the recruitment start date The study was conducted from Feb 2021 to May 2022; used start of conducted range as recruitment_start per rule 5; no specific FPI elsewhere.
Recruitment End: N/A
Recruitment End Rationale:INSPECT-AI's reasoning for how it identified the recruitment end date No direct LPI; range end is not used for recruitment_finish.
Study End: 05-2022
Study End Rationale:INSPECT-AI's reasoning for how it identified the study end date The study was conducted from Feb 2021 to May 2022; used end of conducted range as study_end_date per rule 5; no specific completion date.
Overall — What is the overall integrity assessment of the study?
Rationale: One of the authors has hade seven articles retracted, often when senior author. The current trial has a large team and the author Amirhossein Sahebkar is one of many and not first or last author. But still, a flag has been raised.