Colon-Targeted Curcumin Delivery Systems: Mucoadhesive Approaches, Challenges, and Emerging Multi-Mechanistic Strategies

2026-07-15T10:07:25+00:00

Curcumin possesses excellent properties associated with inflammation, oxidative stress, and cancer. This makes it a potential therapeutic agent for treating inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) and colorectal cancers (CRC). Limitations on the clinical use of curcumin include: its poor solubility in water, its inability to be absorbed by the gut, rapid metabolism, and lack of stability in the GI tract. Therefore, colon-targeted drug delivery systems (CTDDS) are being used to improve the targeted delivery of curcumin at the site of action, as well as to reduce the premature release of curcumin before it reaches the colon. Various strategies have been explored for CTDDS, including pH-dependent, time-dependent, enzyme-responsive, pressure-dependent, and mucoadhesive systems. Additionally, most research geared to finding new CTDDS focuses on the use of multifunctional systems with multiple targeting mechanisms (e.g. mucoadhesion, enzymatic activation, and ROS-sensitive release) to maximize the therapeutic effect and colonic specificity of the drug. This paper reviews the pharmacological significance of curcumin in colonic disorders, difficulties related to its oral administration, main strategies for targeting the colon, as well as recent advances in developing multifunctional delivery systems aimed at enhancing curcumin's use in colonic disease therapy.

Formulation, Optimization and Evaluation of a Novel Polyherbal Effervescent Churna Using Banana Stem, Ginger and Lemon Peel

2026-08-27T10:02:14+00:00

They worked on creating a type of antacid using natural ingredients like banana stem powder, ginger powder, and lemon peel powder. The goal was to create an effective, easy-to-use herbal alternative to regular antacids for managing heartburn, indigestion, and stomach discomfort. They made an antacid using a granulation method and added ingredients like citric acid and sodium bicarbonate to make it fizz and taste better. Checked the materials and found they contained good stuff like flavonoids, mucilage, and carbohydrates, which could help with healing. They tested three versions of antacid (F1, F2, and F3) to see how well they worked and how they felt. One of the versions worked well. It had good flow, fizzed quickly, tasted okay, and could neutralize stomach acid effectively. Also tested how well it held up over time. Found that it stayed stable with minimal changes. The combination of ingredients and fizz helped it work faster and made patients more likely to use it. This study shows that effervescent herbal antacid could be a natural alternative and a good starting point for more research and development.

Research & Review: Drugs and Drugs Development (e-ISSN: 2582-5720)

Colon-Targeted Curcumin Delivery Systems: Mucoadhesive Approaches, Challenges, and Emerging Multi-Mechanistic Strategies

Formulation, Optimization and Evaluation of a Novel Polyherbal Effervescent Churna Using Banana Stem, Ginger and Lemon Peel