curcumin for #parkinsons

7.21: news.med/parkinsons/curcumin:

. curcumin is found in turmeric spice;
curcumin can reduce the progress of Parkinson's
by inhibiting the misfolding and bunching up
of the brain cell protein alpha-synuclein.
. curcumin can reduce ROS (stressful oxygen radicals)
that are associated with Parkinson's.
. alpha-synuclein toxicity can cause apoptosis (cell suicide),
and curcumin can protect cells against that
[BMC Neurosci. 2010].

other things curcumin can do for the brain:
. Curcumin can chelate metals that cause
oxidative damage to lipids, proteins, and DNA.
. it can inhibit inflammation (stongly associated
with brain cell death in Parkinson's)
and, stimulate beneficial microglial phagocytosis
[immune cells in brain eat unwanted material]
to clear amyloid out of brain.

. removing amyloid might reduce the formation of
the α-synuclein amyloid fibrils found in Parkinson's;
because, the α-synuclein tends to form aggregates
when seeded by other aggregates (amyloids)
[J Biological Chemistry 2005].

. curcumin extracts are poorly absorbed;
perhaps the most potent curcumin formula
is Relentless Improvement's Curcumin
unless you're allergic to Polyvinyl pyrrolidone.

Nutrition Journal 2014:

. the potential health benefits of curcumin
are limited by its poor solubility,
low absorption from the gut,
rapid metabolism and rapid systemic elimination.

In animals, co-administration of curcumin with
an extract obtained from the black pepper
increases absorption by only 1.5-fold.
[ that extract is piperine (sold as BioPerine)
it reduces the metabolism of certain drugs;
so it increases the potency of many medications
[JPET 1985].
]
Whereas,
a complex of curcumin with phospholipids
[found in lecithin or egg yolks]
increased absorption by 3.4-fold;
and a formulation of curcumin with
a micellar surfactant (polysorbate)
increased absorption in mice by 9.0-fold;

A micro emulsion system of curcumin,
which consists of Capryol 90 (oil),
Cremophor RH40 (surfactant),
and Transcutol P aqueous solution (co-surfactant)
has been shown to increase the relative absorption
in rats by 22.6-fold.

Polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) and
PLGA-polyethylene glycol (PEG)
(PLGA-PEG) blend nanoparticles
increased curcumin absorption by
15.6- and 55.4-fold, respectively,
compared to an aqueous suspension of curcumin in rats.

The inclusion of curcumin in a lipophilic matrix
(Phytosomes, Curcumin:Soy Lecithin:
Microcrystalline Cellulose 1:2:2,
CP) has been shown to increase the
relative human absorption of curcumin
by 19.2-fold.
[ Now Foods makes a Curcumin Phytosome
featuring Meriva® Turmeric Phytosome:
Meriva® is a patented formulation of curcumin,
a dietary phenolic, with soy lecithin (non-GMO).
The two compounds form a non-covalent adduct
in a 1:2 weight ratio,
and two parts of microcrystalline cellulose
are then added to improve formulation,
with an overall contents of curcumin of 20%.
]
. this study [Nutrition Journal 2014]
found the most potent formulation was
curcumin extract (95% curcuminoids)
with a combination of hydrophilic carrier
(water-soluble polyvinyl pyrrolidone)
cellulosic derivatives and natural antioxidants:
Tocopherol and ascorbyl palmitate.
[(all key ingedients of CurcuWin)]

according to the maker of Curcuwin:
. various formula and their potency:
standard curc: 1;
curc with volatile Turmeric oils: 1.3;
Phytosome curc: 7.9;
Curcuwin: 46.

that's disputed here:
. the relative bioavailability of
BCM-95®CG (Biocurcumax™)
[curc with volatile Turmeric oils]
was about 6.93-fold compared to normal curcumin
and about 6.3-fold compared to
curcumin-lecithin-piperine formula.
[Indian J Pharm Sci. 2008]

Relentless Improvement`Curcumin (CurcuWin):
(available at Amazon)
CurcuWin provides documented plasma levels of curcuminoids
peaking 10x higher than Longvida or Meriva
and *maintains* those high levels for longer than 12 hours.
. clinical trial results were impressive:
CurcuWIN increased serum curcuminoid levels
*at least* 46 times over standard curcumin.

Discussion of CurcuWin vs Longvida:
. refering to this Longvida study:
[see patent associated with Long Vida]
. *Longvida used "fat-fed" test subjects (cream cheese bagels)
which greatly influenced the test results  to their benefit (3x-4x).
Jaeger's CurcuWin study
was conducted on fasting subjects,
a "worst-case" scenario for curcumin bioavailability.
Fat-fed vs fasting subject bioavailability
and duration of plasma levels
is approximately 3-4x difference!
*The Jaeger study dose was 376mg of CurcuWin
vs the Longvida study used a 650mg dose
(almost twice as much).
*With all the factors in Longvida's favor,
the Longvida still takes more than twice
as long to reach its (lower) peak
and falls off precipitously
while CurcuWin maintains very high plasma levels.

With a view to enhance the solubility of curcumin,
a polyvinylpyrrolidone conjugate was synthesized
[ as is used by the CurcuWin products .]
The result self-assembled in aqueous solution
to form nanosized micellae;
[A typical micelle in aqueous solution
forms a sphere with the hydrophilic "head" regions
in contact with surrounding water,
and the hydrophobic tails are inside;
thereby surrounding particles of curcumen
with spheres of polyvinylpyrrolidone.]
The formation of curcumin into micellae
stabilized it against hydrolytic degradation
[J Pharm Sci. 2011].

some are allergic to Curcuwin:
Polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) is considered to be
generally safe but some are allergic to PVP;
apparently there is some absorption of it through the skin.
. it is used as a binder,
as an aid for increasing the solubility of drugs
in liquid and semi-liquid dosage forms
and as an inhibitor of recrystallization.

the curc with volatile Turmeric oils:

Biomor curcumin (based on bcm-95):
. biomor's curcumin has these patents:
Antony, B. "Composition to Enhance the Bioavailablity of Curcumin,"
U.S. Patent Nos. 7,736,679, 7,883,728, 7,879,373,
(they add essential oil of Turmeric).
. those patents were awarded to
Arjuna Natural Extracts, Ltd.
whose curcumin is called bcm-95,
"the most popular curcumin extract".
. see studies of bcm-95 at bcm95.com.

examples of BCM-95 products:

Life Extension - Super Bio-Curcumin with BCM-95:
"Each 400 mg capsule of Super Bio-Curcumin®
is equivalent to 2,772 mg
of a typical 95% curcumin extract."

Curcu-Gel Ultra 650 mg BCM-95
"Enhanced Absorption Bio-Curcumin Complex
(500mg total Curcuminoids with
Essential Oils of Turmeric Rhizome)"
"with Medium chain Triglycerides, gelatin, glycerin,
high PC lecithin, hydroxylated lecithin,
purified water, yellow beeswax and sunflower oil."