Novel Trends in Drug Delivery and Application of Curcumin in Dentistry

Abstract

The frequent use and misuse of the currently used therapeutic agents have led to the evolution of resistant
strains of common pathogens as well as increased incidence of adverse effects associated with their usage.
Hence, the search for phytochemicals isolated from plants is considered as a good alternative source. The
minimum number of plant species worldwide has been phytochemically investigated until date, there is
a great potential for discovering novel bioactive compounds and drugs. The design and development of
herbal nanoparticles have become frontier research in the nanoformulation arena. Curcumin, a hydrophobic
polyphenol (diferuloylmethane) is a potent Phyto molecule obtained from turmeric (Curcuma longa, FamilyZingiberaceae) has a wide range of biological activities in chronic diseases and a large number of in-vitro
and invivo studies in both humans and animals reported that curcumin has provoked properties like antiinflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiseptic, antimutagenic, hepatoprotective and immunostimulant.
Due to these properties, it is quite useful in dentistry. It has a role in the treatment of periodontal diseases
and oral cancers. But the clinical application of curcumin was limited due to its poor oral bioavailability,
which may result from its poor water solubility, its poor pharmacokinetic profile, rapid metabolism, and
rapid elimination which ultimately results in poor bioavailability upon oral administration. Therefore the
introduction of novel drug delivery technologies gained the importance to achieve modified delivery of
herbal drugs by increasing the therapeutic value and provides a solution towards increased bioavailability
of curcumin. However, there is a scarcity of research and information in this field and much work is needed
to further investigate the pharmacokinetics, enhance the delivery at the target tissue, the bioavailability, and
the medicinal value of curcumin. In this review, various nanoparticles, micellar formulations, cyclodextrin
inclusion compounds, and liposomes have been reported in order to improve the bioavailability, solubility,
and efficacy of curcumin.