Therapeutic deep eutectic solvent-based microemulsion enhances anti-inflammatory efficacy of curcuminoids and aromatic-turmerone extracted from Curcuma longa L

• Published in: RSC advances 2022-09, Vol.12 (40), p.25912-25922
• Main Authors: Supaweera, Nassareen, Chulrik, Wanatsanan, Jansakun, Chutima, Bhoopong, Phuangthip, Yusakul, Gorawit, Chunglok, Warangkana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chemistry; Constituents; Cytokines; Dimethyl sulfoxide; Interleukins; Macrophages; Microemulsions; Propylene; Solvents
• ISSN: 2046-2069; 2046-2069
• DOI: 10.1039/d2ra03656h

To diminish chemical waste and improve the delivery of Curcuma longa L. (CL) constituents, microemulsions based on hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents (HDESs) were designed as ready-to-use solvents for CL extraction. The microemulsion (ME) of the ME-23 formulation (HDES/Tween 80 : propylene glycol (1 : 1)/water, 25/70/5) displayed CL extraction yields of 1.69, 3.04, 7.36, and 1.39 wt% of bisdemethoxycurcumin, demethoxycurcumin, curcumin, and aromatic-turmerone, respectively. The ME-23 without CL chemical constituents and ME-23-based CL extract inhibited NO production with an IC 50 value of 0.0136 ± 0.0023%v/v and a curcumin IC 50 value of 75.2 ± 6.7 nM, respectively, and simultaneously lowered inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-1β production in lipopolysaccharide-activated murine macrophages. Authentic curcumin in ME-23 possessed superior NO inhibitory activity, which was 103-fold more effective than curcumin prepared in the conventional solvent dimethyl sulfoxide. ME-23 was also capable of delivering curcumin into murine macrophages. After 30 days of storage in HDES and HDES-based ME, curcumin remained more than 90%. ME-23 provides advantages for CL extraction, constituent delivery, and anti-inflammatory functions that can be applied to pharmaceutical and cosmetic products.