SOLID LIPID NANOPARTICLES OF CURCUMIN FOR ENHANCED ORAL BIOAVAILABILITY: PREPARATION AND IN VIVO EVALUATION

Abstract

Curcumin has wide pharmacological activity but is absorbed poorly after oral dosing, and solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) are one of the most studied ways of improving this. This review summarises published work on how curcumin-loaded SLN are prepared, characterised and tested in animals, and it reports no new data. It covers the causes of low curcumin exposure, the choice of lipid and surfactant, common preparation routes, size, charge and stability measurements, and pharmacokinetic study design. Reported formulations generally raise plasma exposure several-fold over unformulated curcumin, although study designs differ widely. Direct comparisons, long-term stability data and human evidence remain scarce.