Article Summary:
- Curcumin’s poor absorption and bioavailability adversely impact its efficacy as a nutritional supplement.
- Taking curcumin with a fat source, such as milk or turmeric oil, or an adjuvant like piperine can enhance curcumin’s absorption up to a certain extent.
- Advanced curcumin formulations utilizing nutrient delivery nanotechnology can help enhance curcumin’s bioavailability.
The presence of curcumin as a constituent of turmeric makes turmeric both a valuable spice and widely used in traditional medicine. Turmeric contains about 3-8 percent curcumin. Research has demonstrated several health benefits of curcumin, including its role as both an antioxidant and an immunomodulatory agent to promote healthy immune, gastrointestinal, and musculoskeletal function. Additionally, curcumin helps maintain the health of the heart, liver, and nervous system.
Unfortunately, curcumin’s naturally poor absorption and bioavailability adversely impact its efficacy as a nutritional supplement, causing significant amounts of curcumin needing to be taken to achieve its bioefficacy. But what causes the poor natural solubility and absorption of curcumin?
This blog post explains the factors that impact curcumin’s absorption and how an advanced supplement formulation, such as Tesseract’s TetraCumin®, utilizes an innovative nutrient delivery technology to enhance curcumin’s bioavailability.
Factors Impacting Curcumin Absorption Rate
The poor bioavailability of any natural compound, including curcumin, within the body can be due to the following factors:
- Low gastrointestinal absorption
- High rates of metabolism
- Inactivity of metabolic products
- Rapid elimination
Curcumin is a fat-soluble molecule, meaning it has limited solubility in the aqueous gastrointestinal environment. As a result, it undergoes rapid metabolism and is eliminated from the body. Several studies have established curcumin’s poor absorption:
- The administration of curcumin (500 mg/kg) resulted in one-percent bioavailability in rat plasma.1
- Curcumin, when given orally to humans at a dose of 2 gm/kg, resulted in either an undetectable or an extremely low serum level.2
The following table highlights the factors that cause curcumin’s poor absorption in the body:
| Key That Factors Hinder Curcumin Absorption | |
|---|---|
| Tight binding to mucus in the GI tract: | Curcumin binds tightly to the mucus lining of the GI tract, leading to its degradation, and further reducing its availability for absorption. |
| Extensive biotransformation: | Curcumin undergoes extensive metabolism. The liver’s Phase I metabolism breaks down curcumin into various metabolites that are further subjected to Phase II conjugation, whichalters curcumin into water-soluble forms that are readily excreted. |
| Absorption | Traditional formulations don’t utilize nutrient delivery systems that optimize absorption. |
| Minimal Reabsorption in the colon | Curcumin and its metabolites rapidly transit through the GI tract and undergo only limited reabsorption in the large intestine. |
Traditionally, curcumin has been taken with a fatty meal or milk to increase its absorption. This is because curcumin, as a fat soluble molecule, dissolves more readily in fats and oils but does so poorly in water. dditionly, compounds like piperine (found in black pepper) act as adjuvants that can enhance curcumin’s bioavailability.
However, in contrast to traditional methods, innovative formulations, such as liposomes, micelles, nanoparticles, and phospholipid complexes, offer longer circulation times, enhanced permeability, and resistance to rapid metabolism.
Adding an Advanced Curcumin Supplement to Your Diet
TetraCumin®, developed by Tesseract Medical Research, is an innovative nutritional supplement that optimizes curcumin’s absorption and bioavailability.
How does TetraCumin® differ from traditional curcumin supplements?
- TetraCumin’s primary ingredient is tetrahydrocurcumin, a major curcumin metabolite that has better stability and more solubility than curcumin. The chemical stability of tetrahydrocurcumin contributes to its enhanced bioavailability — a greater fraction of tetrahydrocurcumin will enter the bloodstream to exert its many health-promoting benefits.*
- TetraCumin utilizes Tesseract’s proprietary CyLoc® – DexKey® technology — a nutrient delivery system that will maximize tetrahydrocurcumin’s absorption.
- Unlike traditional curcumin supplements, which display poor palatability and must be taken in high amounts to achieve the desired outcomes, Tesseract’s innovative nutrient delivery nanotechnology masks curcumin’s bitter taste. Tesseract’s nutrient delivery technology also enables micro-dosing, which means a lesser amount of the active ingredient is required to achieve the desired health outcome.
As one of the best curcumin nutritional supplements, TetraCumin® enhances curcumin’s absorption rate to better promote your health and wellness.*
The power of Tesseract supplements lies in enhancing palatability, maximizing solubility, absorption, and bioavailability, and micro-dosing multiple nutrients in a single, highly effective capsule. Shop products on our website and learn more about how they support your neurological health and well-being.*
References:
1Prasad S, et al. Cancer Research and Treatment vol. 46,1 (2014):2-18. doi:10.4143/crt.2014.46.1.2
2Shoba G, et al. Planta Medica vol. 64,4 (1998):353-356. doi:10.1055/s-2006-957450
