Curcumin is the active ingredient in the Indian spice turmeric.  As an inhibitor of DNA transcription factor NF-κB, it has enormous pharmaceutical potential, with anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, anti-mutagenic, and antitumor properties.  However, its low bioavailability and rapid degradation in the liver and small intestine hinders these beneficial properties.  When administered orally to rats, 75% of a 1000mg/kg dose was excreted in feces, in part due to curcumin’s low solubility in water.  When combined with cyclodextrins in an inclusion complex, curcumin’s stability and solubility increases, resulting in a higher pharmaceutical potential.  The curcumin-β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex was synthesized, and Raman spectroscopy was used to confirm the presence of the complex with peaks at 1598cm<sup>-1</sup> and 1636cm<sup>-1</sup>.  Sodium alginate beads containing β-cyclodextrin, curcumin, and the inclusion complex were synthesized as preparation for analysis.  SEM images of the beads revealed that the exterior of the beads was composed of smooth ridges due to the clumping of the alginate around the calcium and inclusion complex when introduced to a calcium chloride solution.   Future studies entail testing the efficacy of the inclusion complex beads, using a dilute hydrochloric acid solution to simulate the acid present in the stomach for a dissolution study.  Absorbance values of curcumin will be measured at different time intervals for up to 25 hours.  Additionally, the curcumin-β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex (non-bead form) will be delivered using a microdialysis sampling probe to determine if that is a viable approach to deliver the complex to a tumor site or any other area of the body.

Solubility studies and investigation of delivery of a curcumin-β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex using a microdialysis probe

255th National Meeting (2018)

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