An efficient small intestine-targeted curcumin delivery system based on the positive-negative-negative colloidal interactions

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In order to decrease the transformation and increase the bioaccessibility of curcumin through an emulsion-based delivery system, two main characteristics should be considered: first, to keep curcumin in the oil droplets during the gastric phase; second, to release curcumin efficiently in the small intestine. However, commonly-used delivery systems lack at least one of these two key characteristics. Using an INFOGEST static in vitro simulation model, this study aimed to investigate the ability of a positive-negative-negative (PNN) delivery system to protect curcumin against the gastric phase and release it in the small intestine. The results showed the PNN system was more resistant against gastric proteolysis, compared with a primary emulsion and two bilayer emulsions. The high-pressure liquid chromatography results showed that only 5% of the initial curcumin in the PNN system was released at the end of the gastric phase (versus >55% for the other three systems). In contrast, during the simulated small intestine, the remaining content of the protein in the PNN system was readily digested and released curcumin. Almost 84% of the initial curcumin in the PNN system was released efficiently in the small intestine, compared with less than 20% release for other delivery systems. The initial rate and final amount of the free fatty acids released from the PNN system were also at least 20% higher than that of other systems. Therefore, the PNN is an efficient system for gastric protection and targeted delivery/release of curcumin in the small intestine.