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In Vitro Study on Antihypertensive and Antihypercholesterolemic Effects of a Curcumin Nanoemulsion
Heni Rachmawati1, Irene Surya Soraya2, Neng Fisheri Kurniati2
1School of Pharmacy, Bandung Institute of Technology, Ganesah 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia; National Research Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Bandung Institute of Technology, Ganesah 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia.
Insights
Curcumin nanoemulsion enhances cholesterol reduction more effectively than standard drugs. This nanoemulsion also slightly improves curcumin's blood pressure-lowering effects, suggesting potential for cardiovascular disease management.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Cardiovascular Research
- Natural Product Chemistry
Background:
- Atherosclerosis and hypertension are precursors to severe cardiovascular events like myocardial infarction and stroke.
- Statins and captopril are common treatments for hypercholesterolemia and hypertension, respectively.
- Curcumin, from Curcuma domestica, shows therapeutic potential for hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, with nanoemulsion improving its properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of nanoemulsion-encapsulated curcumin as an antihypertensive and antihypercholesterolemic agent.
- To assess the impact of nanoemulsification on curcumin's biological activity and physical characteristics.
Main Methods:
- Curcumin nanoemulsion formulation and preparation were previously established.
- Physical characterization included droplet size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, and loading capacity.
- In vitro assays measured Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) inhibition and HMG-CoA reductase inhibition to assess antihypertensive and antihypercholesterolemic activities.
Main Results:
- Nanoemulsified curcumin demonstrated a more pronounced cholesterol-lowering effect compared to pravastatin, indicated by HMG-CoA reductase inhibition.
- Curcumin in nanoemulsion showed a slight increase in ACE inhibition compared to free curcumin, though not significantly different from captopril.
- The enhanced activity is attributed to the improved solubility of curcumin within the nanoemulsion system.
Conclusions:
- Curcumin nanoemulsion exhibits significant potential as an antihyperlipidemic agent, outperforming the standard drug pravastatin in HMGR inhibition.
- While not a potent ACE inhibitor, nanoemulsified curcumin offers a slight improvement in antihypertensive activity.
- Nanoencapsulation enhances both the cholesterol-lowering and blood pressure-regulating effects of curcumin, highlighting its promise as an alternative therapeutic.
Abstract:
Atherosclerosis and hypertension can potentially progess into dangerous cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction and stroke. Statins are widely used to lower cholesterol levels while antihypertensive agents such as captopril are widely prescribed to treat high blood pressure. Curcumin, a phenolic compound isolated from Curcuma domestica, has been proven effective for a broad spectrum of diseases, including hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. Therefore, curcumin is quite promising as an alternative therapeutic compound. Our previous studies have proven a significant increase in physical properties, bioavailability, and stability of curcumin when encapsulated in a nanoemulsion. The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of the nanoemulsion in enhancing curcumin activity as a antihypertensive and antihypercholesterolemic agent. The formulation and preparation method of the curcumin nanoemulsion have been developed in our previous study. Physical characterization was performed, including measurement of droplet size, polidispersity index, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, and loading capacity. Antihypertensive activity of curcumin was evaluated by determining Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) inhibition in vitro. A substrate for ACE, hippuryl-L-histidyl-L-leucine was allowed to react with ACE, resulting in hippuric acid formation as the product. The degree of ACE inhibition by curcumin was represented by the amount of hippuric acid formed. Antihypercholesterolemic activity of curcumin was studied using the HMG-CoA reductase assay equipped with a 96-well UV plate. This assay was based on the spectrophotometric measurement of the decrease in absorbance which represents the oxidation of NADPH by the catalytic subunit of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR) in the presence of the substrate HMG-CoA. Curcumin is known to have no significant difference in inhibiting ACE compared to Captopril, but when it was incorporated in the self-nanoemulsifying carrier, it slightly increased the inhibitory effect on ACE. In contrast, the effect of curcumin in reducing cholesterol based on the HMGR assay was more pronounced. Curcumin encapsulated in a nanoemulsion showed significant cholesterol-lowering activity compared to a standard drug, pravastatin. Therefore, we conclude that curcumin does not show ACE inhibitory effects, but has potential use as an alternative therapeutic compound to treat hyperlipidaemia. Curcumin encapsulated in a nanoemulsion increased not only the HMGR inhibition, but also ACE inhibition of curcumin. These effects are suggested to be the result of improved solubility in the nanoemulsion system.
