Abstract

Curcumin was characterized as an excellent molecule among many naturally occurring compounds for treatment and prevention of a wide variety of human diseases especially for cancer therapeutics. It was proved to be safe even used at very high dose. However, due to its very low bioavailability, curcumin has not yet been approved as a therapeutic agent. Many attempts have been made to increase curcumin bioavailability via the increase of its solubility, stability, and permeability by using several techniques. This review presents the bioavailability enhancement techniques of curcumin, covering the recent progress on chemical and pharmaceutical technology techniques, the use of new materials for formulation preparation, and the use of natural compound enhancers. In addition, the recent developed transdermal curcumin delivery is also presented.