Curcumin is the most active and lea

Curcumin is the most active and least stable bioactive component of turmeric (Curcuma longa) plant. In
the present study, an attempt has been made to overcome the instability during processing and
bioavailability problems of curcumin by nanoencapsulation technology and the effect was evaluated by
simulated digestion study. Curcumin was encapsulated in medium chain triglyceride oil droplets of
nanoemulsion prepared by ultrasonification using whey protein concentrate-70 and Tween-80 as
emulsifiers with an encapsulation efficiency of 90.56 ± 0.47%. The prepared nanoemulsion has particles of
average diameter 141.6 ± 15.4 nm and zeta potential of
6.9 ± 0.2 mV. In vitro release kinetics of curcumin
from nanoemulsion by simulated gastrointestinal studies showed that the curcumin nanoemulsion
was relatively resistant to pepsin digestion but pancreatin causes release of curcumin from nanoemulsion.
The slow release of curcumin from the nanoemulsion was supposed to increase bioavailability. The total
antioxidant activity of curcumin nanoemulsion was reduced from 3.53 ± 0.11 mM Trolox/mg of curcumin
to 3.33 ± 0.02 mM Trolox/mg of curcumin after encapsulation. The prepared nanoemulsion was stable to
pasteurization, different ionic strengths (0.1e1 M) and pH ranging from 3.0 to 7.0. The study has
important implication in the formation and design of encapsulated bioactive systems