ABSTRACT
This work aimed at improving the solubility of curcumin by the preparation of spray-dried ternary solid dispersions containing Gelucire®50/13-Aerosil® and quantifying the resulting in vivo oral bioavailability and anti-inflammatory activity. The solid dispersion containing 40% of curcumin was characterised by calorimetry, infrared spectroscopy and X-ray powder diffraction. The solubility and dissolution rate of curcumin in aqueous HCl or phosphate buffer improved up to 3600- and 7.3-fold, respectively. Accelerated stability test demonstrated that the solid dispersion was stable for 9 months. The pharmacokinetic study showed a 5.5-fold increase in curcumin in rat blood plasma when compared to unprocessed curcumin. The solid dispersion also provided enhanced anti-inflammatory activity in rat paw oedema. Finally, the solid dispersion proposed here is a promising way to enhance curcumin bioavailability at an industrial pharmaceutical perspective, since its preparation applies the spray drying, which is an easy to scale up technique. The findings herein stimulate further in vivo evaluations and clinical tests as a cancer and Alzheimer chemoprevention agent.
Subject(s)
Anti-Inflammatory Agents/chemistry , Anti-Inflammatory Agents/pharmacokinetics , Curcumin/chemistry , Curcumin/pharmacokinetics , Drug Stability , Animals , Anti-Inflammatory Agents/pharmacology , Biological Availability , Chemistry, Pharmaceutical/methods , Curcumin/pharmacology , Fats/chemistry , Fats/pharmacokinetics , Fats/pharmacology , Male , Oils/chemistry , Oils/pharmacokinetics , Oils/pharmacology , Rats , Rats, Wistar , Silicon Dioxide/chemistry , Silicon Dioxide/pharmacokinetics , Silicon Dioxide/pharmacology , Solubility , Technology, Pharmaceutical/methods , X-Ray Diffraction/methodsABSTRACT
WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Cannabidiol (CBD) is the main non-psychotropic component of the Cannabis sativa plant. REM sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) is a parasomnia characterized by the loss of muscle atonia during REM sleep associated with nightmares and active behaviour during dreaming. We have described the effects of CBD in RBD symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease. CASES SUMMARY: Four patients treated with CBD had prompt and substantial reduction in the frequency of RBD-related events without side effects. WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: This case series indicates that CBD is able to control the symptoms of RBD.
