Comparative Oral Absorption of Curcumin in a Natural Turmeric Matrix with Two Other Curcumin Formulations: An Open-label Parallel-arm Study.

Curcuminoids are the major bioactive molecules in turmeric, and poor bioavailability deters them from being the major components of many health and wellness applications. This study was conducted to assess the bioavailability of a completely natural turmeric matrix formulation (CNTMF) and compare its bioavailability with two other commercially available formulations, namely, curcumin with volatile oil (volatile oil formulation) and curcumin with phospholipids and cellulose (phospholipid formulation) in healthy human adult male subjects (15 each group) under fasting conditions. Each formulation was administrated orally as a single 500-mg dose in capsule form, and blood samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry at various time intervals up to 24 h. The ingestion of the CNTMF was very well absorbed and resulted in a mean curcuminoids plasma Cmax of 170.14 ng/mL (Tmax  = 4 h) compared with 47.54 ng/mL and 69.63 ng/mL for the volatile oil (Tmax  = 3 h) and phospholipid (Tmax  = 2.25 h) formulations, respectively. The extent of absorption of total curcuminoids in the blood for the CNTMF was 6× greater than volatile oil formulation and 5× greater than phospholipids formulation. The results of this study indicate that curcumin in a natural turmeric matrix exhibited greater bioavailability than the two comparator products. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Preparation, characterization and anti-colitis activity of curcumin-asafoetida complex encapsulated in turmeric nanofiber.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a main form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Asafoetida (ASF) and turmeric have traditionally been used for the treatment of various inflammatory diseases, including UC, because ASF is rich in sulfur compounds and turmeric contains curcumin (CUR). Turmeric nanofiber (TNF), the modified cell wall component of turmeric is considered to play important role in the human diet, health and can be used as a carrier agent to encapsulate bioactive components. A novel gut health product (GHP) was formulated by encapsulation of ASF and CUR complex onto TNF. The GHP was characterized by UPLC, GC-MS, FTIR, XRD, SEM with EDS and DSC studies. GHP was evaluated for anti-colitis activity in a rat model of 5% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) induced UC. Treatment with GHP significantly attenuated the disease activity index, colitis score, histopathological changes and myeloperoxidase activity. GHP has significant protective effects against DSS induced colitis.