Long-term survival outcomes following cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy for peritoneal metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma with peritoneal metastasis (HCC-PM) has a poor outlook. Traditional treatments have limited effect on survival. The safety and efficacy of cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS + HIPEC) have been shown in other peritoneal cancers. This study evaluates the role of CRS + HIPEC in HCC-PM. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of HCC-PM patients treated with CRS + HIPEC at Beijing Shijitan Hospital from March 2017 to December 2023 was conducted, assessing clinical features, severe adverse events (SAEs), and overall survival (OS) rates. RESULTS: The study population comprised 10 HCC-PM patients who underwent CRS + HIPEC. The median peritoneal cancer index (PCI) was 25, and complete cytoreduction (CC0 ~ 1) was achieved in half of the patients. Three patients experienced SAEs within 30 days postoperatively. The 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year OS rates were recorded as 89.0%, 89.0%, and 21.0% respectively, with a median OS1 of 107.8 months and OS2 of 49.9 months. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 5.0 months. CONCLUSION: The application of CRS + HIPEC offers significant benefits to patients with HCC-PM. A selected group of patients may achieve prolonged PFS. Incorporating CRS + HIPEC into the treatment paradigm can thus be considered a strategic therapeutic option for patients with HCC-PM.

Simultaneous Evaluation of Dissolution and Absorption Study of Compound Danshen Tablets and Capsules Based on Cellular Electrical Sensing Model.

This study explores the dissolution mechanism and absorption process of compound Danshen tablets (CDTs) and compound Danshen capsules (CDCs) in vitro. Taking the cell index as the evaluation index of dissolution and absorption of multi-component solid preparations of CDTs and CDCs, it breaks through the idea of traditional research. We used real-time cell-based assay (RTCA) to provide a new idea and method for the consistency evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) compound preparations. The drug dissolution and absorption simulation system (DDASS) was established to obtain the dissolution and absorption samples of compound Danshen solid preparations at different time points. The cell index (CI) of the sample to H9C2 cells was detected by RTCA technology, and the dissolution and absorption percentage were calculated based on this index to obtain the dissolution and absorption kinetics model. Meanwhile, one batch of tablets and one batch of capsules (batch numbers ZKC1816 and 202101001) were selected to conduct the overall animal pharmacodynamic experiment to verify the feasibility of drug effect evaluation with cell index as an indicator. The best fitting model of dissolution curves of each batch of CDTs and CDCs is the Weibull model. There was a good correlation (r > 0.86) between the dissolution-absorption-pharmacodynamic curve. Based on RTCA technology, we have established the comprehensive evaluation method for cell biology of compound Danshen solid preparations in line with the overall concept of TCM and a synchronous evaluation system of dissolution and absorption in vitro of new TCM compound solid preparations.

[Research model integrating "both medicinal and adjuvant properties" for essential oils from Chinese medicinal: based on characterization of medicinal properties].

Essential oils(EOs) from Chinese medicinals, which can be used as adjuvants and exert certain therapeutic effect, are directly used in Chinese medicine formulas. Conventional research strategy for EOs from Chinese medicinals is to compare the efficacy of the prescriptions before and after the addition of EOs, and the penetration-enhancing mechanisms of EOs remain unclear. In modern research on EOs from Chinese medicinals, the method for studying chemical penetration enhancers is often used, which fails to reflect the overall efficacy of EOs. This study clarified the property regularity of EOs from Chinese medicinals as transdermal penetration enhancers, and thereby proposed a research model which integrated the medicinal and adjuvant properties of EOs from Chinese medicinals via "component-delivery-effect" characterization route. The core concept is that constituents of EOs from Chinese medicinals and their delivery process play a key role in their external application. This research model is expected to serve as a reference for further research on EOs from Chinese medicinals for transdermal application.

[Synchronous evaluation of continuous dynamic dissolution and absorption of Compound Danshen Dropping Pills based on cellular bioelectrical effect].

The real-time cell-based assay(RTCA) was used to establish the bioelectrical sensing model of Compound Danshen Dripping Pills with rat cardiomyocytes(H9 c2). The time/dose-dependent cell response profiles(TCRPs) of in vitro dissolution and absorption of the pills were determined to establish the continuous dynamic dissolution and absorption kinetic models. Thereby, the cell index(CI)-based dissolution and absorption kinetic curves and kinetic models of Compound Danshen Dripping Pills were obtained. The optimal dissolution kinetic model was Weibull model. The similarity factors f_2 of dissolution curves were greater than 50 and the correlation coefficients of absorption curves were larger than 0.95. With the experiment about the efficacy on mice, percentages of the bleeding time of mice administrated with Compound Danshen Dripping Pills were calculated, and there was a correlation among dissolution, absorption, and efficacy curves(r > 0.9). RTCA is applicable to the study of the dissolution and absorption kinetics of solid compound Chinese medicine preparations. Thus, it is an innovative and feasible method to evaluate the quality and batch consistency of compound Chinese medicine preparations.

[Mechanism of Qingwei Powder in treatment of periodontitis based on UPLC-Q-TOF-MS, GC-MS, network pharmacology and molecular docking].

The present study explored the mechanism of Qingwei Powder(QP) in the treatment of periodontitis based on chromatography-mass spectrometry and network pharmacology-molecular docking techniques. UPLC-Q-TOF-MS and GC-MS were used to identify the chemical constituents of QP. The active components and targets were screened out through the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP), and their targets were predicted using SwissTargetPrediction. Targets related to periodontitis were obtained from GeneCards, OMIM, and DisGeNET. Venn diagram was constructed using Venny 2.1 to obtain the intersection targets. Cytoscape 3.7.2 was used to construct the "chemical component-target-disease" network. The targets were analyzed for Gene Ontology(GO) function and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathway enrichment by clusterProfiler R, and the "chemical component-target-pathway" network was constructed. The binding activity of the active components to the target proteins was verified by molecular docking. A total of 189 chemical components were obtained by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS and GC-MS, including 39 active components with 180 potential targets related to periodontitis. Target enrichment analysis of the active components yielded 92 KEGG pathways. Twenty KEGG pathways, 34 active components, and 99 targets were involved in the "chemical component-target-pathway" network. Molecular docking verified a good binding ability of the key targets to the key compounds. This study preliminarily indicates that QP is effective in treating periodontitis through multiple components, multiple targets, and multiple pathways, which reflects the complex system of Chinese medicine. This study provides the theoretical foundation for the subsequent research on the material basis and key quality attributes of QP.

[Quality value transmitting of substance benchmarks in Danggui Buxue Decoction].

To clarify the key quality attributes of substance benchmarks in Danggui Buxue Decoction(DBD), this study prepared 21 batches of DBD substance benchmarks, and established two methods for detecting their fingerprints, followed by the identification of peak attribution and similarity range as well as the determination of extract and transfer rate ranges and contents of index components ferulic acid, calycosin-7-O-ß-D-glucoside, and astragaloside Ⅳ. The mass fractions and transfer rates of DBD substance benchmarks from different batches were calculated as follows: ferulic acid(index component in Angelicae Sinensis Radix): 0.037%-0.084% and 31.41%-98.88%; astragaloside Ⅳ(index component in Astragali Radix): 0.021%-0.059% and 32.18%-118.57%; calycosin-7-O-ß-D-glucoside: 0.002%-0.023% and 11.51%-45.65%, with the extract rate being 18.4%-36.1%. The similarity of fingerprints among 21 batches of DBD substance benchmarks was all higher than 0.9. The quality control method for DBD substance benchmarks was preliminarily established based on the HPLC fingerprint analysis and index component determination, which has provided a basis for the subsequent development of DBD and the quality control of novel related preparations.

[Quality evaluation of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma based on UPLC characteristic chromatogram and quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker (QAMS)].

Based on UPLC characteristic chromatogram and quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker(QAMS), the content of seven types of ginsenosides in Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma was simultaneously determined, and the quality of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma was evaluated by the principal component analysis(PCA). The chromatographic separation was performed on the Acquity UPLC BEH C_(18) column(2.1 mm×100 mm, 1.7 µm) with the mobile phase of acetonitrile-water for gradient elution at the flow rate of 0.3 mL·min~(-1), the column temperature of 30 ℃, the detection wavelength of 203 nm, and the injection volume of 2 µL. The UPLC chromatogram was established with 19 batches of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma samples from three producing areas by Similarity Evaluation System for Chromatographic Fingerprint of Traditional Chinese Medicine(version 2012). Thirteen characteristic peaks were determined and seven components were identified. SPSS 26.0 was used to conduct PCA on the characteristic peak areas. With the peak of ginsenoside Rb_1 as reference peak S, ginsenoside Rb_1 showed good durability of relative correction factor as compared with other ginsenosides. The QAMS method for the determination of seven ginsenosides in Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma was established. There was no significant difference in results between the QAMS method and the external standard method. As revealed by the results of PCA and the determination of the total content of seven ginsenosides, the four batches of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma numbered S19, S18, S1, and S2 were of superior quality. The characteristic chromatogram and QAMS method for the determination of seven ginsenosides in this study were convenient and accurate, which greatly shortened the analysis time and improved the analysis efficiency. The findings of this study are expected to provide a basis for the overall quality evaluation of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma.

Skin Electrical Resistance Measurement of Oxygen-Containing Terpenes as Penetration Enhancers: Role of Stratum Corneum Lipids.

The measurement of skin electrical resistance (SER) has drawn a great deal of attention for the rapid screening of transdermal penetration enhancers (PEs). However, the mechanisms underlying the SER measurement are still unclear. This study was to investigate the effects and mechanisms of seven oxygen-containing terpenes on the SER kinetics. Stratum corneum (SC) lipids were proved to play a key role in SER measurement. Then, the factors affecting the SER measurement were optimized. By the determination of SER kinetics, cyclic terpenes (1,8-cineole, terpinen-4-ol, menthol and α-terpineol) were demonstrated to possess higher enhancement ratio (ER) values compared with linear terpenes (linalool, geraniol and citral). For the first time, the linear correlation was found between ER of terpenes and the interaction energy of terpene⁻ceramide complexes revealed by molecular simulation. The attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) analysis revealed that the effect of cyclic terpenes on SC lipid arrangement was obviously stronger than that of linear terpenes. In addition, by evaluating HaCaT skin cell viability, little difference was found between the toxicities of cyclic and linear terpenes. In conclusion, measurement of SER could be a feasible approach for the efficient evaluation of the PEs that mainly act on SC lipids.

[Opportunities and challenges in development of compound preparations of traditional Chinese medicine: problems and countermeasures in research of ancient classical prescriptions].

As an outstanding representative of traditional Chinese medicine( TCM),ancient classical prescriptions carry the profound accumulation of the splendid civilization of Chinese medicine for thousands of years. It is the best part of the great treasure-house of Chinese medicine after thousands of years' training of TCM theory. It condenses the wisdom of all generations of doctors,and as the summary of clinical experience,it is the most brilliant pearl in the treasure house of TCM. The in-depth research and development of ancient classic prescriptions is a golden key to excavate the treasure house of TCM,which not only conforms to the development trend of TCM industry,but also brings unprecedented opportunities and challenges for the inheritance and innovation of contemporary Chinese herbal compound preparations. However,as a " new member" in the national drug research and development system,classic prescriptions have no specific implementation rules although the guidance is given by macro policies,and there is no successful case of research and development according to the registration requirements. Therefore,unified consensus and standards have not yet been formed for some key issues in the process of the development of the classic prescriptions,and much work is still in the exploration stage,so it is necessary to conduct in-depth research and discussion on these issues. In this paper,the problems in the research process of classical prescriptions were summarized,such as the resources of medicinal materials,the processing of decoction pieces,the prescription dosage,the molding technology and the quality evaluation,and the research strategy was put forward after analysis,hoping to provide a reference for the research and development of classical prescriptions.

[Study on quality of standard decoction of Coptidis Rhizoma based on traditional decoction process].

In order to determine the quality evaluation method for standard decoction of Coptidis Rhizoma,15 batches of standard decoction of Coptidis Rhizoma were prepared by using standardized process. Parameters such as traits,p H value,indicative component content,fingerprint similarity,composition transfer rate and dry extract rate were selected as the indexes for quality evaluation. Similarity evaluation and cluster analysis were performed for HPLC fingerprint of standard decoction,and mathematical model was used to study the correlation between dry extract rate,berberine content,berberine transfer rate in standard decoction and berberine content in decoction pieces. The results showed that the similarity of fingerprints was greater than 0. 99 for these 15 batches of standard decoctions of Coptidis Rhizoma. In cluster analysis,the standard decoctions of Coptidis Rhizoma from 4 producing areas were classified into 3 categories,consistent with the content determination results,indicating that there were quality differences among different producing areas.R2 in three linear regression mathematical models established was all greater than 0. 9,with significant difference. The validation of three batches of data showed that the models had good accuracy. Therefore,this model can be used to predict the quality of standard decoction prepared from different Coptidis Rhizoma pieces. In the standard decoction process established in this study,the integrity of the traditional process was greatly preserved,and the established quality evaluation method could be used to comprehensively examine the quality of the standard decoction,which can provide a demonstration for the related research of water extraction preparation containing Coptidis Rhizoma pieces.

Study on the Quality Evaluation of Compound Danshen Preparations Based on the xCELLigence Real-Time Cell-Based Assay and Pharmacodynamic Authentication.

Objective: To perform a preliminary study on the quality evaluation of compound Danshen preparations based on the xCELLigence Real-Time Cell-based Assay (RTCA) system and make a pharmacodynamics verification. Methods: The compound Danshen was discussed as a methodological example, and the bioactivity of the compound Danshen preparations were evaluated by real-time cell electronic analysis technology. Meanwhile, an in vivo experiment on an acute blood stasis rat model was performed in order to verify this novel evaluation through the curative effect of dissipating blood stasis. Results: We determined the cell index (CI) and IC50 of the compound Danshen preparations and produced time/dose-dependent cell response profiles (TCRPs). The quality of the three kinds of compound Danshen preparations was evaluated through the RTCA data. The trend of CI and TCRPs reflected the effect of drugs on the cell (promoting or inhibiting), and it was verified that the results correlated with the biological activity of the drugs using a pharmacodynamics experiment. Conclusion: The RTCA system can be used to evaluate the quality of compound Danshen Preparations, and it can provide a new idea and new method for quantitatively characterizing the biological activity of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs).

Application of Real-Time Cell Electronic Analysis System in Modern Pharmaceutical Evaluation and Analysis.

Objective: We summarized the progress of the xCELLigence real-time cell analysis (RTCA) technology application in recent years for the sake of enriching and developing the application of RTCA in the field of Chinese medicine. Background: The RTCA system is an established electronic cellular biosensor. This system uses micro-electronic biosensor technology that is confirmed for real-time, label-free, dynamic and non-offensive monitoring of cell viability, migration, growth, spreading, and proliferation. Methods: We summarized the relevant experiments and literature of RTCA technology from the principles, characteristics, applications, especially from the latest application progress. Results and conclusion: RTCA is attracting more and more attention. Now it plays an important role in drug screening, toxicology, Chinese herbal medicine and so on. It has wide application prospects in the area of modern pharmaceutical evaluation and analysis.

A novel release kinetics evaluation of Chinese compound medicine: Application of the xCELLigence RTCA system to determine the release characteristics of Sedum sarmentosum compound sustained-release pellets.

Purpose: To establish a novel release kinetics evaluation method of Chinese compound medicine (Sedum Sarmentosum compound) with xCELLigence Real-Time Cell-based Assay (RTCA) system. Methods: Cell lines sensitive to Sedum Sarmentosum compound are screened, and cell index-time (CI-T) graphs and cell index release kinetics models are established based on the cell index (CI) monitored. The methodological studies of precision and repeatability were processed by the cell monitors system. The release profiles of the sustained-release Sedum Sarmentosum compound were determined. Consequently, the sustained-release property was characterized by the kinetic parameters based on the cell-index. Results: The accumulative release rate based on cell index of Sedum sarmentosum compound sustained-release preparation was determined and it had a good correlation with time, fitting better with First-order model, Higuchi model and Ritger-Peppas model, and fitting best with Weibull model. It indicated that the release rate is proportional with the diffusion coefficient. Conclusion: The new method of cell-index release kinetics may provide a quantitative description for the release of the multi active agents from Traditional Chinese Medicines. The application of xCELLigence RTCA system for evaluating the release kinetics of Chinese compound medicine is feasible.

Development of phospholipid vesicle-based permeation assay models capable of evaluating percutaneous penetration enhancing effect.

OBJECTIVES: The phospholipid vesicle-based permeation assay (PVPA) model has recently been introduced as an in vitro model which can mimic stratum corneum (SC) barriers to estimate the skin permeability of drugs. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the PVPA model was suitable for the evaluation of penetration enhancing effect of skin penetration enhancers (PE). METHODS: The PVPA model was optimized by changing the lipid composition of both small liposomes (SL), and large liposomes (LL). The barrier properties of the PVPA model were monitored by electrical resistance and permeability measurement of the fluorescent marker Rhodamine B (RB). Then the permeation studies of the five active compounds with different physicochemical properties, namely, ferulic acid, paeoniflorin, albiflorin, tetrahydrocolumbamine, and tetrahydropalmatine, were performed directly on PVPA model to evaluate the penetration enhancing effect of menthol. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS: The enhancement ratio (ER) ranking of the five active compounds observed using the optimized PVPA model was in accordance with what observed with Franz diffusion cell device using porcine ear skin. Attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) analysis of PVPA model and porcine ear skin after treatment with menthol has shown similar mechanism of menthol which perturbs the SC lipid arrangement and extracts the SC lipids. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, the optimized PVPA model was used for the first time for the evaluation of the permeation enhancing effect. The optimized PVPA model has shown potential to be applied in a more standardized, cheaper, and ethical way for the screening of PE.

Rapid and accurate quality evaluation of Angelicae Sinensis Radix based on near-infrared spectroscopy and Bayesian optimized LSTM network.

The authentic traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) including Angelicae Sinensis Radix (ASR) are the representative of high-quality herbals in China. However, ASR from authentic region being adulterated or counterfeited is frequently occurring, and there is still a lack of rapid quality evaluation methods for identifying the authentic ASR. In this study, the color features of ASR were firstly characterized. The results showed that the authentic ASR cannot be fully identified by color characteristics. Then near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy combined with Bayesian optimized long short-term memory (BO-LSTM) was used to evaluate the quality of ASR, and the performance of BO-LSTM with common classification and regression algorithms was compared. The results revealed that following the pretreatment of NIR spectra, the optimal NIR spectra combined with BO-LSTM not only successfully distinguished authentic, non-authentic, and adulterated ASR with 100 % accuracy, but also accurately predicted the adulteration concentration of authentic ASR (R2 > 0.99). Moreover, BO-LSTM demonstrated excellent performance in classification and regression compared with common algorithms (ANN, SVM, PLSR, etc.). Overall, the proposed strategy could quickly and accurately evaluate the quality of ASR, which provided a reference for other TCMs.

[Study on HPLC fingerprint of Ganershu intermediate and determination of three active components].

OBJECTIVE: To establish the fingerprint analysis method of Ganershu intermediate by HPLC. METHODS: An analysis was performed on a sunFire C18 (4. 6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) column with acetonitrile-0.1% phosphate aqueous as the mobile phase by gradient elution. The flow rate was 1.0 mL/min, the detection wavelength was 320 nm and detection time was 80 min. The column temperature was 35 degrees C. In the recorded chromatogram of Ganershu intermediate, neohesperidin was used as reference substance, and RSD of the relative retention time and the relative peak areas of all peaks compared with its peak were measured. The similarity of 10 batches of Ganershu intermediate was appraised by the similarity evaluation system. Using the external standard method, the contents of chlorogenic acid, neohesperidin and naringin were determined in 10 batches of intermediate. RESULTS: Tweenty-three peaks were separated on HPLC fingerprint in Ganershu intermediate, degree of similarity of fingerprint for ten batches of Ganershu intermediate were greater than 0.90. Three compounds' contents were almost the same in each batch of intermediate sample. CONCLUSION: The method is stable, accurate, reliable and can be used as a quality control for Ganershu intermediate and sustained-release capsules.

Comparative study on Angelica sinensis after different processing with yellow rice wine in color, aromas, chemical components, and antioxidant activities.

This study aimed to explore the differences in raw Angelica Sinensis (RAS), wine washing AS (WAS), and wine stir-frying AS (WSAS). The results showed there were differences among the three AS in color and aroma, and 34 aroma compounds were identified. The content determination results revealed the ferulic acid and Z-ligustilide levels of RAS decreased after processing, and those in WAS were higher than in WSAS. Furthermore, 85 representative common components and 37 unique components were tentatively identified in three AS. Finally, the free radical scavenging assay results indicated the antioxidant capacity of RAS was reduced after processing, and the antioxidant capacity of WAS was better than WSAS. Collectively, the RAS undergoes significant changes in color, aromas, components, and antioxidant ability after processing, and the different processing methods also result in significant differences between WAS and WSAS.

A graphene oxide-loaded processed pyritum composite hydrogel for accelerated bone regeneration via mediation of M2 macrophage polarization.

A coordinated interaction between osteogenesis and the osteoimmune microenvironment plays a vital role in regulating bone healing. However, disturbances in the pro- and anti-inflammatory balance hinder the therapeutic advantages of biomaterials. In this study, a novel composite hydrogel was successfully fabricated using graphene oxide (GO)-loaded processed pyritum (PP) in combination with poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC). Subsequently, the immunomodulatory effects and bone regenerative potential of PP/GO@PEGDA/CMC were investigated. The results demonstrated that the PP/GO@PEGDA/CMC hydrogel possessed excellent mechanical properties, swelling capacity, and stability. Moreover, PP/GO@PEGDA/CMC prominently promoted M2 polarization and increased the levels of anti-inflammatory factors (interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10, and transforming growth factor-ß). These beneficial effects facilitated the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in vitro. Additionally, the in vivo results further verified that the implantation of PP/GO@PEGDA/CMC markedly reduced local inflammation while enhancing bone regeneration at 8 weeks post-implantation. Therefore, the results of this study provide potential therapeutic strategies for bone tissue repair and regeneration by modulating the immune microenvironment.

Application of advanced technology in traditional Chinese medicine for cancer therapy.

Although cancer has seriously threatened people's health, it is also identified by the World Health Organization as a controllable, treatable and even curable chronic disease. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been extensively used to treat cancer due to its multiple targets, minimum side effects and potent therapeutic effects, and thus plays an important role in all stages of tumor therapy. With the continuous progress in cancer treatment, the overall efficacy of cancer therapy has been significantly improved, and the survival time of patients has been dramatically prolonged. In recent years, a series of advanced technologies, including nanotechnology, gene editing technology, real-time cell-based assay (RTCA) technology, and flow cytometry analysis technology, have been developed and applied to study TCM for cancer therapy, which efficiently improve the medicinal value of TCM and accelerate the research progress of TCM in cancer therapy. Therefore, the applications of these advanced technologies in TCM for cancer therapy are summarized in this review. We hope this review will provide a good guidance for TCM in cancer therapy.

Development of curcumin-loaded composite phospholipid ethosomes for enhanced skin permeability and vesicle stability.

Ethosomes are widely applied as the carriers for the transdermal delivery of hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs. Herein, curcumin-loaded ethosomes (CE) with different phospholipid composition were formulated and thoroughly compared. A significant interaction between the unsaturated phosphatidylcholine (PC) and saturated hydrogenated phosphatidylcholine (HPC) was found by molecular simulation and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), which led to the reduction of PC peroxidation with the presence of HPC. Subsequently, the composite phospholipid ethosomes containing curcumin were prepared for the first time to evaluate their properties in comparison with the conventional ethosomes composed of PC (CE-P) or HPC (CE-H). CE with PC/HPC ratio of 1:1 (CE-P1H1) with the best vesicle stability and flexibility significantly decreased the uptake by HaCaT cells compared to CE-H and free curcumin, indicating reduced skin cell toxicity. Compared with free curcumin, CE-P1H1 had the highest transdermal efficiency (p < 0.001), followed by CE-P (p < 0.05), partly due to the fact that CE-P1H1 could disturb lipid domain of stratum corneum (SC). Moreover, CE-P1H1 was found to promote curcumin for deep penetration of the skin via the hair follicles route. Our study has shown that using composite phospholipid ethosomes as lipid vesicular carriers could enhance transdermal penetration of drugs and increase in the vesicle stability.