Nanoencapsulated curcumin and praziquantel treatment reduces periductal fibrosis and attenuates bile canalicular abnormalities in Opisthorchis viverrini-infected hamsters.

This study investigated the effects of nanoencapsulated curcumin (NEC) and praziquantel (PZQ) treatment on the resolution of periductal fibrosis (PDF) and bile canalicular (BC) abnormalities in Opisthorchis viverrini infected hamsters. Chronic O. viverrini infection (OV) was initially treated with either PZQ (OP) and subsequently treated with NEC (OP+NEC), curcumin (OP+Cur) or unloaded carriers (OP+carrier) daily for one month.

Encapsulated curcumin results in prolonged curcumin activity in vitro and radical scavenging activity ex vivo on skin after UVB-irradiation.

The phytochemical curcumin possesses antioxidant activity; however, it becomes unstable after being exposed to light or heat or loses activity during storage. This is especially important when curcumin is applied to the skin within a cosmetic or pharmaceutical formulation, since sun exposure is unavoidable. This drawback can be directly addressed by encapsulation of curcumin in photo-stable nanospheres.

Comparison of two encapsulated curcumin particular systems contained in different formulations with regard to in vitro skin penetration.

Background: Curcumin is known for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and anticarcinogenic properties. However, the strong lipophilic compound is not easily applicable, neither in water, nor directly in o/w formulations. So far, loading of nano or micro scaled carriers has enabled only an uptake up to 30% of curcumin.

Mucoadhesive curcumin nanospheres: biological activity, adhesion to stomach mucosa and release of curcumin into the circulation.

Although mucoadhesive drug carriers for the gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) have been reported, the mucoadhesive property and drug release characteristics have never been evaluated separately, whilst the adherence of the carriers to the surface of GIT has not been directly visualized. Here, a monopolymeric carrier made from ethylcellulose (EC) and a dipolymeric carrier made from a blend of methylcellulose (MC) and EC (ECMC) were easily fabricated through a self-assembling process and yielded the highest reported curcumin loading of ~48-49%. Both curcumin loaded ECMC (C-ECMC) and curcumin loaded EC (C-EC) particles showed an in vitro free radical scavenging activity and a dose-dependent in vitro cytotoxic effect towards MCF-7 human breast adenocarcinoma and HepG2 hepatoblastoma cells in tissue culture.