Turmeric bioavailability enhancer could be used with APIs, Wacker

By Staff Reporter

- Last updated on GMT

Image: iStock/AD077
Image: iStock/AD077

Related tags Active ingredient Pharmacology

Wacker Biosolutions says an excipient shown to increase the bioavailability of a food supplement by a factor of 40 could have implications in the API space.

The life sciences offshoot of German chemical company Wacker Chemie AG announced this week data published in the European Journal of Nutrition​ demonstrated an increased oral bioavialiability of curcumin when formulated with its cyclodextrin gammadextrin.

While curcumin, found in the spice turmeric, is believed to have anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and hypoallergenic properties, Wacker’s BD of Nutrition Rachela Mohr said there are no plans to develop this as a medicine.

However, she told in-Pharmatechnologist.com there is the potential to use gammadextrin and its other cyclic oligosaccharide as excipients to increase the bioavailability of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).

“Drug and pharma companies do use our cyclodextrins for diverse applications, as they have a lot of interesting properties. For instance, they can reliably protect active ingredients against chemical and enzymatic degradation, mask an unpleasant odor or taste, and increase the bioavailability and solubility of purely soluble drugs,“ ​she told us.

“Another advantage is the controlled release in oral delivery.“

With water-soluble gammadextrin – the enzymes for the production of which Wacker owns – it works by encapsulating fat-soluble curcumin molecules, creating a hydrophilic shell that leads to a much better absorption by the human body.

The firm boasts curcumin formulated with gammadextrin is absorbed 40 times more efficiently than the standard extract, and over four times better than the next best comparable commercial product.

However, while Wacker is open to working with drug companies, Mohr said the ability of the excipient would depend on the API.

In the end, you have to test it with each possible active to see whether an ingredient can be complexed, and then to prove whether the bioavailability can be increased substantially.”

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