Exploring recent developments to improve antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial efficacy of curcumin: A review of new trends and future perspectives

- Low aqueous solubility and poor bioavailability limit significance of curcumin.
- Newer strategies are attempted to mitigate pharmaceutical problems.
- Nanoencapsulation of curcumin improved antioxidant and antibacterial efficacies.
- Nanotechnology-mediated delivery of curcumin is excellent tool to improve its efficacy.

Curcumin derivatives have been well-documented due to their natural antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities. Curcuminoids have also gained widespread recognition due to their wide range of other activities which include anti-infective, anti-mutagenic, anticancer, anti-coagulant, antiarthrititc, and wound healing potential. Despite of having a wide range of activities, the inherent physicochemical characteristics (poor water solubility, low bioavailability, chemical instability, photodegradation, rapid metabolism and short half-life) of curcumin derivatives limit their pharmaceutical significance. Aiming to overcome these pharmaceutical issues and improving therapeutic efficacy of curcuminoids, newer strategies have been attempted in recent years. These advanced techniques include polymeric nanoparticles, nanocomposite hydrogels, nanovesicles, nanofibers, nanohybrid scaffolds, nanoconjugates, nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs), nanoemulsion, polymeric micelles and polymeric blend films. Incorporation of curcumin in these delivery systems has shown improved solubility, transmembrane permeability, long-term stability, improved bioavailability, longer plasma half-life, target-specific delivery, and upgraded therapeutic efficacy. In this review, a range of in vitro and in vivo studies have been critically discussed to explore the pharmaceutical significance and therapeutic viability of the advanced delivery systems to improve antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial efficacies of curcumin and its derivatives.