Effect of Piperine on Skin Permeation of Curcumin from a Bacterially Derived Cellulose-Composite Double-Layer Membrane for Transdermal Curcumin Delivery

Abstract

Curcumin is a naturally occurring substance with various pharmacological activities. It has not been developed as a drug because of its low bioavailability due to its low solubility and absorption. Piperine is a natural enhancer that is popularly used to increase the absorption of curcumin in oral applications; however, it has not been applied for transdermal curcumin delivery. This study aims to develop a transdermal curcumin delivery system using piperine as a skin permeation enhancer in the form of composite double-layer membrane; the upper layer consisted of curcumin and the lower layer consisted of piperine. The amount of curcumin was fixed, but the amount of piperine varied at three levels from 1.96% to 7.41%. The composite membrane had moderate mechanical strength (15⁻22 MPa) with a good swelling degree (~435%). From an in vitro skin permeation study, piperine had the effect to increase the permeation of curcumin. The permeation rate was related to the amount of piperine. The composite membrane containing piperine at 7.41% could increase the permeation rate of curcumin by about 1.89 times compared with non-piperine contained membrane. Bacterially-derived cellulose containing curcumin and piperine may have the potential for transdermal curcumin delivery in order to improve curcumin's bioavailability.

Evolution of Bacterial Cellulose in Cosmetic Applications: An Updated Systematic Review

“…In 2018, BC was studied by Jantarat et al [ 17 ], as a composite biomaterial that allowed optimal ex vivo release time of piperine. Unlike the other studies, in this one, the membranes were purchased ready-made from a local market in Songkhla, Thailand.…”

Development and optimization of Benjakul microemulsion formulations for enhancing topical anti-inflammatory effect and delivery

“…In addition, the TTM principle believes that three Piper species in BJK remedy can distribute throughout the whole body. Piperine as an alkaloid from three Piper species in BJK has been reported to have anti- inflammatory activity and enhance skin permeation related to TTM principles ( 18 ). Ginger as a plant component in BJK has been successfully investigated for the treatment of joint inflammation ( 19 ).…”

Analgesic Activity of Transdermal Patch Ethanol Extract Piper Nigrum L Fructus With Some Enhancers on Mice

“…Pada penelitian lain, piperin dilaporkan dapat bertindak sebagai peningkat penetrasi (enhancer) pada penghantaran curcumin secara transdermal. Selain meningkatkan fluks curcumin, fluks piperin pada permeasi in vitro juga meningkat seiring dengan meningkatnya konsentrasi piperin sebagai peningkat penetrasi (Jantarat et al, 2018). Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa penetrasi piperin secara per kutan cukup baik sehingga piperin dapat dijadikan kandidat obat pada penghantaran transdermal.…”