Nanoencapsulation-mediated curcumin and its incorporation in nutraceutical cookies: Cell viability, bioavailability, and anti-inflammatory activity studies

The anti-inflammatory activity of curcumin, Curcuma longa, is known, however, its low bioavailability is a
limiting factor. The nanoencapsulated curcumin was developed and its spherical particle size ~20 nm was
confirmed using TEM. An in vitro study was performed to determine the cytotoxicity of standard and nanoencapsulated
curcumin, and their effect on lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide, and IL-6 production in RAW
264.7 cells. The plasma bioavailability of nanoencapsulated curcumin was 12 times higher compared to native
curcumin in Swiss albino mice. The anti-inflammatory activity of native curcumin and nanoencapsulated curcumin
was compared in the carrageenan-induced paw edema model. A paw thickness reduction of 33.7 % and
46 % was observed with the treatment of native curcumin and nanoencapsulated curcumin, respectively and the
histology studies validated the results. Further, the in vitro COX-1 inhibition of cookies incorporated with
nanoencapsulated curcumin was 20 and 24 % higher than native curcumin and control cookies, respectively
indicating their nutraceutical application.