TY  - JOUR
TI  - Comparative pharmacokinetic analysis of curcumin and curcumin O-glucuronide through curcumin nano-gel-based delivery system using liquid chromatogram tandem mass spectrometry
AU  - Hong, Lue
AU  - Man, Ruohan
AU  - Chen, Xiaowan
AU  - Yang, Ziming
AU  - Shen, Dingjie
AU  - Chen, Wei
JO  - Pakistan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences
JA  - Pak. J. Pharm. Sci.
VL  - 39
IS  - 6
SP  - 1631
EP  - 1644
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06
KW  - Curcumin
KW  - Curcumin O-glucuronide
KW  - LC-tandem mass spectrometry
KW  - Pharmacokinetics
KW  - Rectal suppository
DO  - 10.36721/PJPS.2026.39.6.155.1
AB  - Background: Curcumin has poor oral bioavailability due to low solubility and rapid metabolism. Objectives: To develop a curcumin nano-gel (CNG) and evaluate its pharmacokinetics following oral and rectal administration. Methods: A sensitive LC-MS/MS method was established to quantify curcumin and its main metabolite, curcumin O-glucuronide (COG), in plasma. Pharmacokinetics of CNG were compared to curcumin suspension (CS) in mice and rats, with oral doses of 1000 mg/kg and rectal doses of 200 mg/kg. Plasma samples were analyzed using WinNonlin. Results: CNG formed well-dispersed nanoparticles. Oral administration of CNG significantly enhanced curcumin absorption, achieving 66.7-fold higher Cmax for curcumin and 84.8-fold higher Cmax for COG versus CS. AUC increased 9.2-fold for curcumin and 24.4-fold for COG. Rectal administration of CNG yielded 5.5-fold higher Cmax and 3.5-fold higher AUC relative to oral CS. Conclusion: CNG significantly improves curcumin bioavailability via oral and rectal routes, indicating its potential as an effective delivery system for curcumin therapeutics.
ER  -