how to improve its assimilation?

Turmeric is recognized for its many health benefits: antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, fight against diabetes, etc. Problem: it is very poorly assimilated by the body, which means taking high doses that are difficult to tolerate. A new chemical encapsulation process drastically improves its bioavailability.

The turmeric ((Turmeric longa) is a plant of the family of ginger used for centuries in Asia as spice and as an ancestral remedy. It contains many molecules active ingredients called curcuminoids, which represent about 4% by weight of the dried root. The main curcuminoids are curcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin. These are the compounds that have pharmacological properties. No less than 11,500 scientific studies have highlighted the benefits of curcumin, even if no health claim has so far been confirmed by the European Medicines Agency:

  • Reduction of oxidative stress.

  • Action anti-inflammatory (rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis or colitis inflammatory …).

  • Increased sensitivity toinsulin.

  • Decrease in blood level cholesterol.

  • Ability to block the multiplication of several types of cancer cells.

Cyclodextrins to increase the assimilation of curcumin

Unfortunately, curcumin being hydrophobic, it is very poorly assimilated by the body. " Studies with curcumin have shown very high doses of turmeric, the equivalent of 40 g / day. However, at such doses, it causes digestive problems and stomach aches "Says Florent Carrio, the founder of Nutripure, which markets a new water-soluble form of curcumin extract called Active Curcumin.

In order to pass the intestinal barrier, the curcumin is here encapsulated in a cyclodextrin. This, composed of eight molecules of glucose linked together, forms a kind of cavity in which is housed the active ingredient. The glucose molecules being hydrophilic, they easily pass the intestinal barrier. " Once in the gut, the glucose ring disintegrates and glucose is digested like any sugar “, Details Florent Carrio. Without any danger to health, cyclodextrins have been used for years in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics or food.

A study published in 2017 in the journal European Journal of Nutrition compared the bioavailability of several curcuminoid formulations. Result: Active Curcumin is 39 times better assimilated than the standard extract (95% curcumin extract). In terms of bioavailability, 1 g of Active Curcumin is thus equivalent to 40 g of curcumin or 1 kg turmeric! In addition, the blood concentration of curcuminoids (curcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin) decreases less rapidly: the peak ofabsorption is reached within one hour and the compounds remain in the body for 12 hours.

The study also demonstrates the superiority of this water-soluble curcumin compared to the other forms usually offered:

  • Curcumin + essential oils

  • Curcumin + piperine

  • Curcumin + phospholipids soy

  • Curcumin + particles solid lipids

Pepper, phospholipids and nanoparticles

Many other methods exist to improve the bioabsorption of curcumin. A 1998 study showed in particular that a substance derived from black pepper, piperine, increased the absorption of curcumin by 2,000% compared to curcumin administered alone. Some formulas also use cellulose microcrystalline or dioxide silica. But paradoxically, these compounds act on the overall permeability of the wall of the intestine, which can cause other health problems.

Curcumin can also be mixed with extracts ofEssential oil, phospholipids of soy or some nanoparticles of lipids. "Although effective, itis a form that we have not retained given the uncertainties on theharmlessness of nanoparticles“Says Florent Carrio.

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