Curcumin is the principal curcuminoid in the spice turmeric. It has shown potential benefits for the treatment of chronic illnesses including cardiovascular, pulmonary, and autoimmune diseases. However, its usage is limited by its low bioavailability.

Indu Pal Kaur and co-workers, Panjab University, India, have sought to enhance the bioavailability of curcumin through use of lipid-based nanoparticles. Concentrated curcumin loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (C-SLNs) were prepared by microemulsification.

Oral administration of the C–SLNs gave relatively slow increase and sustained plasma concentration of curcumin over a longer time span than free curcumin which showed a sharp peak in concentration after 15 min. At low doses (1 mg/kg), encapsulated curcumin showed 155 times greater bioavailability than free curcumin.

• Exploring solid lipid nanoparticles to enhance the oral bioavailability of curcumin
  V. Kakkar, S. Singh, D. Singla, I. Pal Kaur,
  Mol. Nut. Food Res. 2010, 54.
  DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.201000310