Novel self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems containing curcumin for topical drug delivery

Introduction

Curcuma longa has been used both externally and internally for decades due to its beneficial effects on health and low toxicity. The polyphenolic compound called curcumin – which is the main active ingredient of the plant – can be isolated from the rhizome of the turmeric (Tomeh et al., 2019). Based on the literature, curcumin can be promising in the treatment of various clinical symptoms, as it is associated with significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities (Goel et al., 2008). It also can exhibit beneficial effects in wound healing and prevention of chronic ultraviolet B damage. Despite these positive effects, a major criticism of curcumin is its poor bioavailability. According to the Biopharmaceutical Classification System (BCS), it belongs to group IV, which means that it shows very low water-solubility and permeability (McClements et al., 2015). Therefore, the in vivo effectiveness of curcumin is usually limited in aqueous solution. This study was aimed to design topical dosage forms containing curcumin in self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) and to evaluate their in vitro and anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.

Мaterials and methods

First of all, solubility and emulsification efficiency studies were carried out to identify suitable SNEDDS components. By the construction of the pseudoternary phase diagrams, the quantities of the oil phase, surfactant, and co-surfactant in appropriate portions were determined. Self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS) were developed by mixing the selected surfactant (Labrasol) and co-surfactant (Transcutol P) in 1:1 ratio and then isopropyl myristate (IPM) was added as the oil phase. The given concentration of curcumin was dissolved in the mixture. The composition of the formulated selfemulsifying systems was presented in Table 1.

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Liza Józsa, Ildikó Bácskay, Pálma Fehér, Novel self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems containing curcumin for topical drug delivery, Macedonian pharmaceutical bulletin, 69 (Suppl 1) 19 – 20 (2023), Online ISSN 1857 – 8969,
DOI: 10.33320/maced.pharm.bull.2023.69.03.009