Curcumin Hybrid Lipid Polymeric Nanoparticles: Antioxidant Activity, Immune Cellular Response, and Cytotoxicity Evaluation.

Poor solubility and short biological half-life present a challenge that needs to be overcome in order to improve the recognized bioactivities of curcumin (CUR), the main phenolic compounds derived from the roots of Curcuma longa. However, drug delivery systems have proven to be an excellent strategy to improve and obtain greater bioavailability. Our previous studies on curcuminoid hybrid nanoparticles have shown promising results by significantly increasing the solubility of desmethoxycurcumin (DMC) and bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDM). In this contribution, we performed a detailed characterization of a CUR as well as in vitro and in vivo studies. The developed method produced CUR loaded nanoparticles with an average size of 49.46 ± 0.80. Moreover, the FT-IR analysis confirmed the encapsulation, and TEM images showed their spherical shape. The NP achieved an encapsulation efficiency greater than 99%. Further, the release studies found that the NPs obtained a significantly higher release than the pure compounds in water. In vivo delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) studies showed promising results by enhancing the immune activity response of CUR in NP compared to bulk CUR. Furthermore, we report a significant increase in antioxidant activity for CUR-NP in aqueous solution compared to free CUR. Finally, an important in vitro cytotoxic effect on gastric AGS and colon SW620 adenocarcinoma cell lines was found for CUR-NP while empty carrier nanoparticles are observed to exhibit low cytotoxicity, indicating the potential of these CUR-PLU NPs for further studies to assess their phytotherapeutic applications.

Bovine Serum Albumin-Based Nanoparticles: Preparation, Characterization, and Antioxidant Activity Enhancement of Three Main Curcuminoids from Curcuma longa.

Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) lipid hybrid nanoparticles are part of the new solutions to overcome low bioavailability of poor solubility drugs such as curcuminoids, which possess multiple biological advantages; however, they are counterbalanced by its short biological half-life. In this line, we prepared the three main curcuminoids: curcumin (CUR), desmethoxycurcumin (DMC), and bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDM)-loaded BSA nanoparticles. The three formulations were characterized by the average size, size distribution, crystallinity, weight loss, drug release, kinetic mechanism, and antioxidant activity. The developed method produced CUR-, DMC-, and BDM-loaded BSA nanoparticles with a size average of 15.83 ± 0.18, 17.29 ± 3.34, and 15.14 ± 0.14 nm for CUR, DMC, and BDM loaded BSA, respectively. FT-IR analysis confirmed the encapsulation, and TEM images showed their spherical shape. The three formulations achieved encapsulation efficiency upper to 96% and an exhibited significantly increased release from the nanoparticle compared to free compounds in water. The antioxidant activity was enhanced as well, in agreement with the improvement in water release, obtaining IC50 values of 9.28, 11.70, and 15.19 µg/mL for CUR, DMC, and BDM loaded BSA nanoparticles, respectively, while free curcuminoids exhibited considerably lower antioxidant values in aqueous solution. Hence, this study shows promises for such hybrid systems, which have been ignored so far, regarding proper encapsulation, protection, and delivery of curcuminoids for the development of functional foods and pharmaceuticals.