Curcumin Nano-Formulations with Enhanced Bioavailability and Therapeutic Efficacy for Osteoarthritis Treatment

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic musculoskeletal disorder, characterized by the chronic and progressive degenerative illness of articular cartilage that leads to tenacious joint pain and inflammation as well as functional disability, impairing the life quality in elderly people. Unfortunately, there is no regenerative therapy for treating osteoarthritis. Curcumin (diferuloylmethane), a hydrophobic polyphenol compound isolated from curcuma longa rhizome, has been broadly employed as a safe supplement traditionally. Despite great beneficial impacts, achieving the desired pharmacological effects of curcumin has shown limitations because of its low systemic bioavailability. It has been found that biological activities and bioavailability of curcumin could be efficiently enhanced using nanoscale drug carriers. The current literature review aimed to discuss nanoscale delivery systems that have been constructed to improve the bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy of curcumin for treating osteoarthritis. In brief, various delivery systems composed of polymer, metal, or emulsion nanocarriers have been manufactured to improve the bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy of curcumin in the treatment of osteoarthritis. Intra-articular injection of curcumin nanoparticles could induce chondrogenesis, inhibit degradation of articular cartilage, and reverse abnormalities in joint structure and smooth surface of articular cartilage in knee osteoarthritis, thus preventing osteoarthritis development, mechanistically, through anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities of curcumin. In conclusion, nano-formulations of curcumin have been found to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of curcumin for treating osteoarthritis and introduce a promising therapeutic alternative to current therapies, however, future clinical investigations are warranted to approve their application in humans.