Comparative pharmacokinetics of new curcumin preparations and evidence for increased bioavailability in healthy adult participants

Theracurmin, which contains the curcumin composition, CR-033P, has been demonstrated to be highly bioavailable. To compare the pharmacokinetics of the three compositions, CR-033P, CR-043P using modified starch as an alternative to the dispersant gum ghatti used in the CR-033P, and TS-P1 containing the newly developed amorphous curcumin, a randomized double-blind crossover study (3-way, 3-period) was conducted. A single dose of the curcumin capsules (TS-P1 45 mg, CR-033P 90 mg, and CR-043P 90 mg) was administered to healthy adult participants. Blood sampling was performed 24 hours after capsule administration, and the plasma concentration of total curcumin was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. TS-P1 and CR-043P tended to have a slightly lower area under the concentration time curve (AUC) than CR-033P, while TS-P1 displayed bioequivalence to CR-043P. Further, TS-P1 displayed bioequivalence to CR-033P in terms of AUC , while that of CR-043P tended to be lower than that of CR-033P. TS-P1 had a higher AUC than CR-043P. A statistically significant difference (p