TITLE:
Pharmacokinetic Study of Nanoparticulate Curcumin: Oral Formulation for Enhanced Bioavailability
AUTHORS:
R. Ravichandran
KEYWORDS:
Curcumin; Nanoparticles; Pharmacokinetics; Bioavailability
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biomaterials and Nanobiotechnology,
Vol.4 No.3,
July
30,
2013
ABSTRACT: Curcumin, a bioactive component of
turmeric, which is a commonly used spice and nutritional supplement, is isolated
from the rhizomes of Curcuma longa Linn. (Zingiberaceae). In recent years, the potential pharmacological actions
of Curcumin in inflammatory disorders, cardiovascular disease, cancer,
Alzheimer’s disease and neurological disorders have been shown. However, the
clinical application of Curcumin is severely limited by its main drawbacks such
as instability, low
solubility, poor bioavailability and rapid metabolism. Multifarious
nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems for Curcumin including liposomes,
polymeric nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles, micelles, nanogels, nanoemulsions,
complexes and dendrimer/dimer, have been attempted to enhance the oral
bioavailability, biological activity or tissue-targeting ability of Curcumin.
We attempted the nanosuspensions based delivery of curcumin. Nanonisation renders curcumin completely dispersible
in aqueous media. To enhance the
curcumin absorption by oral administration, nanoparticulate solid oral
formulation of curcumin was prepared by us and the resulting capsule was then examined for its efficiency on
bioavailability in Male Wistar rats at a dose of 100 mg curcumin/kg body weight
and the pharmacokinetic parameters were compared to those of normal curcumin
powder and a commercial curcumin capsule CUR-500. The bio-distribution of
curcumin in organs of rat was also studied. Nanoparticulation significantly
raised the curcumin concentration in selective organs in the body. The results
obtained provide promising results for nanoparticulate Curcumin to improve its
biological activities. Enhanced bioavailability of curcumin in the form of nanoparticle
is likely to bring this promising natural product to the forefront of
therapeutic agents for treatment of human disease. The available information
also strongly suggests that nano-formulation of ingredients such as curcumin
may be used as a novel nutrient delivery system too.