Studies on the curcumin phospholipid complex solidified with Soluplus.

OBJECTIVES

With the purpose of developing a curcumin phospholipid complex (CPC) formulation with high performance, the CPC was prepared and solidified with Soluplus in this study.

METHODS

Soluplus was used as a carrier to solidify CPC. The structures of the CPC and curcumin phospholipid complex - Soluplus solidified powder (CSP) - were also characterized by differential scanning electron microscope, differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometer, and flowability, in-vitro dissolution and oral bioavailability were also investigated.

KEY FINDINGS

All analysis indicated that curcumin was completely converted from crystalline to amorphous state in solidified powder. The angle of repose calculated in flowability study indicated a marked improvement from 'cannot be measured' to '37°'. Meanwhile, the dissolution study showed that in phosphate buffer condition, the dissolution rate of CSP had released 76.34% in pH 6.8 and the 78.19% in pH 1.2. Furthermore, in pharmacokinetic study, significant (P < 0.01) improvement of AUC value was observed between CPC and CSP groups, and the results showed that AUC value was increased from 205.84 ± 50.46 μg h/ml to 330.47 μg h/ml.

CONCLUSIONS

A simple and convenient solidifying process was used in this study, and the data suggested that this process not only could improve the flowability and dissolution of phospholipid complex, but also increased the oral bioavailability of curcumin.