Comparative pharmacokinetics of Theracurmin, a highly bioavailable curcumin, in healthy adult subjects

OBJECTIVE: Theracurmin is a submicron dispersed formulation of curcumin, which was developed to increase the bioavailability of curcumin. This study aimed to compare the pharmacokinetics of curcumin administered as two Theracurmin powder products and unformulated curcumin powder. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This randomized, three-treatment, six-sequence, and three-period crossover study enrolled 24 healthy subjects. Blood sampling was done until 12 hours after the administration of Theracurmin and curcumin powder to assess pharmacokinetics using a non-compartmental method. The plasma concentration of curcumin was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. RESULTS: The median time to reach the maximum concentration was 1.5 - 3 hours for Theracurmin and 8 hours for curcumin powder. The two Theracurmin products showed systemic exposure profiles that were comparable to each other. The exposure ratio of Theracurmin to curcumin powder was 18.4 - 20.5 for the maximum plasma concentration and 35.9 - 42.6 for the area under the concentration-time curve from dosing to the last measurable time. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, this study showed similar systemic exposure between the two Theracurmin products. The absorption of curcumin after the administration of Theracurmin was significantly enhanced compared with curcumin powder.