Presentation
Turmeric is a small rhizome whose powder is used in many culinary preparations.
It is a spice in its own right, containing several substances called curcuminoids.
This is a family of molecules with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antiviral properties.
Selection criteria
When choosing a turmeric-based dietary supplement, there are 3 main factors to consider:
- The amount of curcumin in the formula (the active ingredient)
- Its bioavailability (its assimilation)
- The naturalness of the product (natural or not)
Bioavailability
The reasons for consuming turmeric can vary greatly.
For a preventative effect or simply as a spice, classic turmeric is usually a good choice.
However, for a significant health effect (antioxidant action), adding a few grams of organic turmeric powder to your dishes is not enough!
Why not? The reason is simple: the active ingredients we have just seen, the curcuminoids (and therefore curcumin), are very poorly assimilated by the body. The liver does its job and allows us to excrete them quickly in the urine.
Therefore, if we want to reap their benefits, they must be able to act directly in our cells. Their bioavailability must be increased.
Intestinal absorption
In pharmacology, bioavailability can be defined as the proportion of the active ingredient that actually reaches the bloodstream. The rest is usually lost or removed during the digestive process or hepatic metabolism.
Different formulations of curcumin therefore have different levels of bioavailability. Knowing this will allow you to make a more informed choice at the time of purchase.
Free or conjugated form
The free form is actually the most therapeutically active: it is the best curcumin.
The conjugated forms are less active and predominate in the consumption of organic turmeric powder: they are curcuminoids that have been converted by the liver to be more easily eliminated.
We will therefore focus on proprietary supplement formulations that use a "vehicle" to transport the curcumin and increase its bioavailability (and ideally especially its free form).
Amount of active ingredient
In addition to bioavailability, curcuminoid content allows you to identify the best curcumin: how much active is in the formula? How much to increase its bioavailability?
This is just as important to consider as bioavailability.
20 mg of curcumin in one capsule, with double the bioavailability, is equivalent to 40 mg of active ingredient without increased bioavailability.
Naturalness of the product
Manufacturers use various substances to improve absorption. These can be natural (pepper, lecithin, etc.) or chemical (silicon dioxide, polysorbates, etc.).
We will also see how curcuminoids are extracted in formulations: what solvents are used to concentrate them (before attaching them to a "vehicle" to improve assimilation). The healthiest solvents are water and ethanol.
Some are labelled as organic and some are not.
The different formulas
Powder
Turmeric powder is the most common form of spice.
Turmeric sold in powder form has undergone very little processing. It is used to flavour food, prepare therapeutic drinks or cosmetic treatments. It keeps very well.
But it has 2 major drawbacks:
- The curcumin content can be relatively low. In powder form, it must not exceed 5%.
- Bioavailability is very low, meaning that the active ingredient is absorbed by the intestines and then found in the blood. It is a fat-soluble molecule that does not cross the intestinal mucosa well.
In capsules or tablet form
Turmeric is usually ground into a raw powder and then packed into capsules or tablets.
The main advantage of this formulation is taste. In fact, encased in a capsule, it has no flavour. Capsules are also relatively easy to swallow.
The disadvantages are similar to those of the powder form. This format also has the following disadvantages
- The capsule formulation is more expensive than the raw powder.
- Many of these products also contain additives, the composition of which is sometimes questionable.
Liquid form
Liquid turmeric comes in the form of juice. It has the same benefits as the spice (the powder).
However, it should be consumed with caution, as it is very easy to exceed the recommended dosage in this form.
There are concentrated liquid formulas that can be combined with piperine. These have high levels of curcumin.
Piperine (Pepper)
Piperine is a substance derived from black pepper. It is widely used in spice mixtures, especially in India. From a biological point of view, it has the particularity of increasing the bioavailability of curcumin.
Ginger
The combination of turmeric, ginger and black pepper is also very popular in traditional Asian medicine. It is often used in Ayurvedic remedies.
Ginger, like curcumin, has anti-inflammatory properties. They therefore work synergistically to reduce inflammation in the body. Black pepper increases their bioavailability. Some scientists also claim that ginger allows better assimilation of curcuminoids.
The different types of curcumin
Pure 95% or 99%
Standardised turmeric root extract typically has a curcumin titration of up to 95%. This is a significant advantage.
Today, some brands also market an active ingredient that is 99% pure. While this may be attractive, it does not determine the bioavailability of the molecule.
The therapeutic effects of the supplement are primarily determined by the ability of the curcumin to be found in the blood.
Therefore, it is the bioavailability of the supplement that should be considered, rather than its name.
Liposomal
The best curcumin is usually in liposomal form. This is a liquid form.
In liposomal form, the active ingredient is better absorbed through the intestinal wall. This is because it is encapsulated in a fatty substance called a liposome, which easily passes through the intestines.
In addition, liposomes in the bloodstream are much more likely to penetrate into the heart of cells, whose walls are also made up of fatty substances. In fact, the cell's protective layer is mainly made up of phospholipids.
The liposomal form is also free of toxic excipients. It is suitable for everyone (the exceptions are in the precautions for use) and offers continuous activity over time.
Longvida
Curcumin from the Longvida brand.
The patented optimised curcumin Longvida TM is a dietary supplement made from turmeric in a lipophilic form.
The principle is to encapsulate the active ingredient in a lipid matrix. This allows it to dissolve in fat and effectively cross the intestinal wall. This technology is known for its very good absorption. In addition, this formulation releases curcuminoids in a free form.
Furthermore, the diffusion of curcumin in the body is of the "sustained release" type. Unlike the piperidine-bound form, it remains in the blood for a long time. This makes it possible to provide sufficient levels of the molecule over time. Its therapeutic effects are therefore strong and stable.
This turmeric has been tested and approved in several clinical trials. Scientists have observed that the Longvida TM curcumin formulation is 67 to 285 times more bioavailable than standard products that are 95% concentrated.
One of the clinical studies shows a remarkable difference in serum levels of curcumin when the molecule is administered alone or in the form of solid lipid particles. The concentration achieved with the Longvida TM formulation is higher. It reaches a level of 22.43 ng/ml. The rate is "zero" for curcumin alone.
Extraction solvent: Ethyl acetate is used.
Additives: The supplement contains soya lecithin and silicon dioxide. These additives are not problematic but are controversial: silicon dioxide (silica) may be present as nanoparticles. Lecithin is derived from soya, which is considered an allergen.
Novasol
Curcumin from NovaSOL.
NovaSOL Curcumin is an original formulation in which the active ingredient is bioavailable thanks to its micellar form.
It is relatively new on the market, patented in 2014, and has exceptional bioavailability. It is microencapsulated in a polysorbate 80 emulsion.
According to a study conducted on a panel of 23 volunteers, curcumin micelles would increase absorption by a factor of 185.
Extraction solvent: Unknown.
Additives: The supplement contains 93% polysorbate 80, a compound used to make an emulsion. It is a food additive of concern. It is still authorised under number E433, but is the subject of particular attention due to its suspected carcinogenicity.
CurQfen
Curqfen brand curcumin.
Curqfen curcumin is unique in that it is bound to fenugreek fibre. These fibres are soluble, indigestible but fermentable.
According to a study conducted on 50 volunteers, the curcumin in this formulation was 45.5 times better absorbed than in conventional formats.
In addition, encapsulation in the isolated fenugreek fibres would allow for greater release of the molecule. It is important to note that this study analysed the free form of curcumin. This is the most biologically active form.
Extraction solvent: water/ethanol. The most natural and safe solvents available.
Additives: No questionable additives. 100% natural formula.
Theracurmin
Theracurmin from the Theravalues brand.
Theracurmin curcumin comes from a unique formulation. The powder is reduced in the form of nanoparticles.
This formulation, which aims to reduce the size of the curcumin molecules, is designed to increase intestinal absorption. Bioavailability is improved by a factor of 27X5. However, the molecular behaviour of nanoparticles is quite different. We therefore urge you to be very careful with this product.
Serious studies are required to ensure the safety of the product. Therefore, this form of reduced nanoparticles is not for sale in the European Union.
Extraction solvents: unknown.
Additives: no additives, but presence of nanoparticles. Also note that the few American brands add additives to the final product.
Meriva
Curcumin from the Meriva brand.
Meriva Curcumin is a food supplement based on turmeric phospholipid technology.
Turmeric combined with phospholipids effectively crosses the intestinal barrier. It is therefore found in large quantities in the blood. The body can then fully benefit from its therapeutic properties.
Studies have shown that turmeric combined with phospholipids is up to 29 times better absorbed than classic turmeric. It is also particularly stable in the gut. To confirm this, the absorption of this form of curcumin was evaluated in a randomised trial in 2011.
Extraction solvents: ethyl acetate and ethanol.
Additives: The supplement contains synthetic excipients: microcrystalline cellulose. Soy is also added.
Curcugreen (new name for BCM95)
BCM-95 form of Curcugreen.
BCM-95 Curcumin is a standardised formulation containing 95% active ingredient. It contains 86% curcuminoids (including most of the curcumin) and 9% turmeric essential oil, or 95% in total.
Very little clinical information has been published on the bioavailability of the formula. In addition, the information provided by the pharmaceutical company remains rather unclear. However, published results suggest a bioavailability 6.93 times higher than that of conventional curcumin.
Extraction solvent: ethyl acetate.
Additives: 100% turmeric product. In addition, the use of turmeric essential oils to increase bioavailability is not without risk: these essential oils would reduce the anti-inflammatory power of turmeric.
The safety of these essential oils has never been proven.
Cavacurmin
Cavacurmin Formulation.
Cavacurmin Curcumin is a powder formulation with high bioavailability.
The originality of this formulation lies in the fact that the active ingredient is encapsulated in a y-cyclodestrin, which provides better dispersion in an aqueous medium.
Clinical studies have been carried out to calculate the true bioavailability of this formulation. In particular, a double-blind study was carried out in 2013. It aimed to compare the original cavacurmin formulation with conventional curcumin.
Volunteers were given different supplements and doses. Blood samples were taken to measure the actual absorption of curcuminoids with each of the supplements.
The results showed that the cavacurmin formulation provided 40 times greater absorption than conventional curcumin standardised to 95%. In addition, maximum absorption of the active ingredient was observed within one hour of taking the supplement.
Extraction solvent: unknown
Additives: Cyclodextrin (vehicle), used to encapsulate curcumin, is a complex sugar derived from corn. It generally does not contain GMOs, although it is manufactured by the German multinational speciality chemicals company Wacker Chemie AG. This type of vehicle can be controversial.
Turmipure Gold
A newcomer to the turmeric market. This new curcumin formula has been the subject of a major assimilation study in France. The results show that it is assimilated 340 times better than curcumin in its free (most biologically active) form.
The results are spectacular. The study participants also took Meriva and Novasol capsules (see above). Even at higher doses (1000mg), these capsules were not as effective as a single 300mg dose of Turmipure Gold! All curcuminoids were found in higher levels in the body.
This is the ONLY 100% French Turmeric formula. Turmeric is grown in India and benefits from the organic farming label. It is manufactured in France by a leader in plant extraction using an environmentally friendly process.
Extraction solvents: water/ethanol. The most natural and safest solvents.
Additives: contains no additives, 100% natural formula.
Which one to choose?
In our opinion, the best curcumin is Turmipure Gold. It meets all the criteria mentioned in this article: naturalness, high assimilation, no additives... It is also a 100% French product. The assimilation study of this supplement has been published in a prestigious scientific journal (Molecular Nutrition & Food Research).