Curcumin is not soluble in water. Therefore, curcumin emulsion that can dissolve well in water were prepared using multi-emulsification technology, and the antioxidant activities and physical properties of emulsion were measured. Although curcumin was not dissolved in water, it was confirmed to be well dispersed in water when prepared in an aqueous dispersion curcumin emulsion. After dissolving curcumin using water and ethanol as solvents, respectively, the DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging abilities of the filtrate and the curcumin emulsion were measured. Because it was not dissolved in water, activities were not shown. However, when curcumin was dissolved in ethanol, the activities increased as the concentration of curcumin increased. On the other hand, when the curcumin emulsion was dissolved in water, it was found to have abilities. The curcumin emulsion was nano-homogenized and the size and distribution of the emulsified spheres were measured. It was confirmed to be nano-sized as it appeared as 9.083 nm/100%. In the results of the DPPH radical and ABTS radical scavenging abilities of curcumin nano-emulsion, it was confirmed that there was no change in the antioxidant abilities. In conclusion, water-dispersible curcumin prepared using multi-emulsification technology, and it was confirmed to exhibit antioxidant activity and emulsion stability.

Curcumin have various health-beneficial properties in numerous studies. However, its bioavailability is low due to its limited intestinal uptake and rapid metabolism. This study aimed to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of newly developed sub-micron particle curcumin with increased water dispersibility (Theracurmin® CR-033P). Plasma curcumin levels were measured at 0, 1, 2, 4, 8 h after Theracurmin® CR-033P intake using high-performance liquid chromatography. For analyzing pharmacokinetics of Theracurmin® CR-033P, eighteen healthy subjects were recruited and received Theracurmin® CR-033P at a single oral dose containing curcumin 30 mg. Cmax was 28.14 ng/ml, and the area under the curve for 8 h was estimated to be 104.36 ng/ml. Based on the area under the plasma concentration (AUC), the bioavailability of sub-micron particle curcumin was higher 22-, 35-, 28-fold than native curcumin in men, women, and all subjects, respectively. For comparing by formulation, seven healthy subjects were recruited and received two type of treatment: (1) existing dosage form 300 mg (contained curcumin 30 mg) × 3 capsule, (2) high dosage form 300 mg (contained curcumin 90 mg) × 1 capsule + placebo 300 mg × 2 capsule. In the cross-over study, there was no significant differences in Cmax and AUC of plasma curcumin. In conclusion, submicron particle curcumin with increased water dispersibility significantly improved its oral bioavailability and women absorbed curcumin more effectively than men. Different formulation of Theracurmin® CR-033P has shown equivalent to the reference in terms of pharmacokinetics.

Curcumin is a natural polyphenolic phytochemical, which has a number of potential benefits in biological activities. However, curcumin has extremely low water solubility and low bioavailability, which makes it difficult to incorporate into many food products. In this study, we investigated the effects of biopolymer emulsifier type and environmental stress on the physical stability of nanoemulsions containing curcumin. Nanoemulsion containing curcumin stabilized by sodium caseinate (SC), whey protein isolate (WPI), modified starch (MS), and gum arabic (GA) were prepared using microfludizer. The droplet size of nanoemulsions decreased significantly from 1028 nm to 169 nm as emulsifier concentration increased (p<0.05). The optimum concentration of emulsifiers for stable curcumin nanoemulsions were determined to be 1% of SC and 1% of WPI, respectively. The storage study showed that the nanoemulsions were physically stable for 5 weeks at 25oC. In addition, nanoemulsions were physically stable against heat, freeze-thaw, pH, and NaCl solution. However, extensive droplet aggregation occurred in protein-stabilized nanoemulsions at CaCl2 solution, which was attributed to hydrophobic interaction between droplets.

Although cryopreservation of sperm is routinely used for clinical requirement, it has some problems, such as high generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cold-shock. To reduce the detrimental damage in sperm, anti-oxidants were added to cryoprotectant for sperm. Curcumin is one of anti-oxidants, which are added in cryoprotectants. However, recent studies have demonstrated that curcumin decreases sperm viability and motility. This study was performed to identify the effect of curcumin on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-exposed bovine sperm, which were cryopreserved-thawed. In H2O2-exposed bovine sperm, reactive oxygen species (ROS) were significantly reduced by treatment with curcumin in a dose-dependent manner (p < 0.05). Among tested concentrations of curcumin (1 to 50 μM), 30 and 50 μM curcumin showed anti-oxidant effect on H2O2-induced ROS generation. On the other hand, combination of 30 or 50 μM curcumin with anti-oxidant H2O2 increased the percentage of apoptotic sperm compared to only H2O2 treatment. Sperm viability was also decreased in the combination of 30 or 50 μM curcumin with H2O2 as judged by FDA/PI staining. H2O2–induced decrease in sperm progressive motility was recovered by treatment with 1 μM curcumin. These results show that high concentration of curcumin has anti-oxidant effect, but it has also cytotoxic effect on bovine sperm. Sperm viability and motility might be more affected by cytotoxic signals of curcumin compared to antioxidant signals.

울금의 주요 성분인 커큐민과 대두 추출물인 이소플라본의 피부 미용 측면에서 생리활성을 연구하여 화장품 소재로서 가능성 여부를 규명하고자 하였다. 본 연구는 세포실험을 통해 커큐민과 대두 추출물을 피부 세포에 대한 독성 및 항염증을 확인하고, HPLC을 이용하여 대두 추출물의 성분분석과 피부에 적용하였을 때 수분과 유분, 홍반변화를 측정하였다. 본 연구 결과 커큐민이 RAW 264.7 세포에 대한 독성이 적은 것으로 확인되었으며, 항염증에 대한 효과를 확인하였다. 8주 동안 커큐민과 대두 추 출물이 함유된 화장품과 식이를 병행하여 사용하였을 때 수분함량 변화, 유분함량 변화, 홍반 지수의 감 소가 통계적으로 유의미한 변화를 나타내었으며, 여드름 피부에 유의한 효과를 가질 수 있음을 확인하였 다. 따라서 본 연구는 커큐민과 대두 추출물이 화장품 소재로 사용 시 여드름 피부 개선에 효과적인 화 장품 소재로서 활용 가능성이 있을 것으로 사료된다.

본 연구에서는 지용성 생리활성 물질인 커큐민의 가용화를 통해 실제 식품에 적용하기 위하여 고압 균질기(microfluidizer)를 이용한 나노크기 입자를 생산하였으며,제조된 나노에멀젼의 입자특성을 검토하였다. 제조된 나노에멀젼의 여러 가지 물리적 특성은 유화제 종류 및 농도,분산상과 연속상의 혼합비율, 고압 균질기의 압력 및 통과횟수의 영향을 받았다. 일반적으로 연속상에서의 유화제농도가 높을수록, 고압 균질기 압력 및 통과횟수가 높을수록 입자크기 및 제타전위 값이 감소하는 경향을 보였으며,입자분산지수 또한 감소되는 양상을 보였다. 여러 조건에서 제조된 나노에멀젼의 저장 기간 동안 입자크기 변화를측정한 결과, 물리적으로 매우 안정한 상태를 유지하였다.따라서, 본 연구를 통해 고압균질기를 이용하여 입자분포가 좁은 커큐민 함유 나노에멀젼을 제조할 수 있었다. 추후 연구에서는 음료와 같은 실제 식품에 적용하고 상업적으로 이용하기 위해서는 열, 냉동, pH, 염 등의 외부환경에 대한 물리화학적 안정성을 검토해야 할 것이다.

Curcumin (C21H20O6) is a hydrophobic polyphenol found in turmeric. Although curcumin has been used as a natural medicine, its major limitation is related to poor absorption from the gut. Therefore, we developed a method for preparation of Curcumin Nanospheres (CN) to improve the aqueous-phase solubility of curcumin and investigate the functional role of CN in promoting feed efficiency and odor reduction in mice. CN showed inhibitory effects on actate dehydrogenase (LDH) cytotoxicity induced by ecotoxic substance toluene in gut epithelial HCT116 cells. In addition, the weights of internal organs (liver, heart, kidneys, and spleen) and the levels of serum Glutamate Oxaloacetate Transaminase (GOT), Glutamate Pyruvate Transaminase (GPT), and LDH did not show significant differences between mice administered oral CN for two weeks and compared to the control group. Interestingly, CN not only reduced hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and ammonia (NH3) levels and fecal odor, but also improved feed efficiency in mice. These results demonstrate that oral nano-delivery of anti-ecotoxicological CN is a functional system to deliver curcumin to the gut to improve feed efficiency and reduce fecal odor in mice.