I am interested in the use of curcumin as are some others here on the list are. I remember that the question of liposomal encapsulation of curcumin and the benefits of such was brought up by several persons on the list. While I don't plan on going into details on my experiments, I would like to pass on a study some will find interesting.
The issue of the bioavailability of curcumin is more than just how much will pass into the bloodstream. Curcumin is metabolized by the body so quickly that even larger amounts may not last long enough in the bloodstream to be distributed in effective amounts throughout the tissues. The good news is that there are some methods that do significantly improve the bioavailability of oral ingestion of curcumin and liposomal encapsulation of curcumin is one of them. See: Bioavailability of Curcumin: Problems and Promises http://mccormickscienceinstitute.org/assets/Mol%20Pharm.%202007%20Nov_De c;4(6)807-18.pdf Section C3 of the report discusses liposomal encapsulated cucumin and the results look very promising. The report also discusses use of bioperine and unfortunately while bioperine does significantly improve the transport of curcumin into the blood, it only marginally improves the distribution of curcumin throughout bodily tissues. There are some other promising alternatives though. A product called Biocurcumax uses a mixture of curcumin and tumeric oil and provides a significant improvement over bioperine. You can purchase tumeric oil as an essential oil and it is readily available. Another option is complexing the curcumin with boron. A method for making such a complex using a microwave oven is described in : Microwave-assisted synthesis of curcumin analogs http://www.arkat-usa.org/get-file/22829/ Although one would need to do some experimenting to actually master the technique. One other possibility of increasing bioavailability might be by fermenting tumeric but I have not really looked into this option: http://antioxbrew.vmicrobial.info/science-backgnd-test-results-1.html If anyone has experience with making or using fermented extracts I would be interested in learning more about it. (Other than your college experiences with beer. Although that also might be interesting) - Steve N
