Guargum and Eudragit ® coated curcumin liquid solid tablets for colon specific drug delivery

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Drug Delivery
• Colorectal Cancer Therapy

Background:

• Colorectal cancer involves uncontrolled cell growth in the colon or rectum.
• Colon-specific drug delivery aims to minimize systemic side effects and optimize therapy for colonic disorders.
• The liquisolid technique enhances drug solubility and facilitates tableting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate colon-specific curcumin liquisolid tablets for improved oral bioavailability and targeted delivery.
• To assess the anticancer efficacy of curcumin liquisolid tablets against colon cancer cells.
• To investigate the drug release profile and bioavailability of coated and uncoated liquisolid tablets.

Main Methods:

• Formulation of curcumin liquisolid powder using natural and pH-dependent polymers (guar gum, Eudragit L100).
• Evaluation of physicochemical properties using micromeritics, solubility, DTA, XRD, and SEM.
• In vitro anticancer activity testing against HCT-15 cells and in vivo bioavailability studies in New Zealand white rabbits.

Main Results:

• Curcumin liquisolid tablets exhibited favorable micrometric properties and enhanced solubility.
• Curcumin-loaded liquisolid tablets demonstrated superior anticancer activity compared to free curcumin.
• Coated liquisolid tablets showed colon-specific drug release, improving bioavailability.

Conclusions:

• The liquisolid technique is a viable strategy for enhancing the oral bioavailability and dissolution of water-insoluble drugs like curcumin.
• Coating liquisolid tablets with colon-sensitive polymers enables site-specific drug release in the colon.
• This approach offers a promising alternative for targeted colorectal cancer therapy with reduced systemic toxicity.