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Comparative oral bioavailability advantage from curcumin formulations

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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to study the oral bioavailability of seven different formulations of curcumin (CRM). CRM formulations viz. aqueous suspension, micronized suspension, nanosuspension, amorphous solid dispersion, hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) inclusion complex, combination with piperine, and spray-dried CRM–milk composite were compared for oral bioavailability in male Sprague–Dawley rats at a CRM dose of 250 mg/kg body weight using a validated high-performance liquid chromatography method. Aqueous suspension provided a C max and AUC(0 − t) of 28.9 ng/ml and 26.9 ng h/ml, respectively. In comparison, statistically significant increase in the oral bioavailability was obtained with the nanosuspension, HP-β-CD inclusion complex, and amorphous solid dispersion with 251%, 567%, and 446% increase in terms of AUC(0 − t) and 405%, 415%, and 270% in terms of C max. However, no significant increase in AUC(0 − t) and C max was observed with piperine and micronized suspension. The milk composite reduced the oral bioavailability of CRM (10% and 37% in terms of AUC(0 − t) and C max). A statistically significant increase in the T max was observed with piperine and in HP-β-CD complex, while the T max was reduced for nanosuspension. The results provide interesting insights into the role of solubility enhancement and metabolism inhibition, for improving the oral bioavailability of CRM.

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Acknowledgments

Yogesh Bapurao Pawar would like to acknowledge Department of Science and Technology (DST), India for providing Senior Research Fellowship, and Sarsvatkumar Babulal Patel would like to acknowledge DST, India for providing Young Scientist Award.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmaceutics, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Sector-67, S.A.S. Nagar, Punjab, 160062, India

    Bhushan Munjal, Yogesh Bapurao Pawar, Sarsvatkumar Babulal Patel & Arvind Kumar Bansal

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  1. Bhushan Munjal
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  4. Arvind Kumar Bansal
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Correspondence to Arvind Kumar Bansal.

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Munjal, B., Pawar, Y.B., Patel, S.B. et al. Comparative oral bioavailability advantage from curcumin formulations. Drug Deliv. and Transl. Res. 1, 322–331 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13346-011-0033-3

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