Development of a food-grade organogel with high bioaccessibility and loading of curcuminoids

Curcumin, the major curcuminoid compound, is a well-known nutraceutical with many health-promoting properties. Its water insolubility, however, greatly affects its bioaccessibility and thereby bioavailability. The objective of this study was to develop a food-grade curcuminoids organogel with high bioaccessibility and high loading of curcumin. The bioaccessibility was evaluated using in vitro lipolysis experiments. It was shown that medium chain triacylglycerols (MCT) has high digestibility and thus generated high bioaccessibility of curcuminoids. High curcumin loading was achieved by the incorporation of Span 20 in the MCT. Furthermore, monostearin was used as a GRAS (generally recognised as safe) organogelator to form the food-grade organogel, in which the bioaccessibility of curcuminoids was not affected by the gel formation. This newly-developed organogel has the potential to be used for oral delivery of curcuminoids as well as incorporated in functional foods systems.