Curcumin for brain health: Arjuna’s turmeric extract shows neuroprotective potential in mouse study

08 Mar 2021 --- The neuroprotective effect of Arjuna Natural’s BCM-95 – a combination of turmeric extract and purified turmeric essential oil – is demonstrated in a new mouse study.

Published in the Hindawi BioMed Research International, the research pegs the nutraceutical solution as effective in mitigating the toxic effects of aluminum build-up in the brain. 

“The neuroprotective effect of curcumin is known, but mostly by in vitro studies. The ability of curcumin to cross the blood-brain barrier is very critical to provide benefits in the brain,” Dr. Benny Antony, joint managing director at Arjuna Natural, tells NutritionInsight.

“This is the first study where the neuroprotective effect of curcumin is correlated with the presence of free curcumin level in the brain.”

Notably, plasma and brain curcumin concentrations reached up to 14 times higher in the BCM-95 complex group than in the curcumin extract group. 

Bioavailability remains a key R&D hurdle for curcumin, as its oral administration is limited in its ability to reach target tissues. 

Curcumin against aluminum neurotoxicity
Brain health can be compromised by exposure to neurotoxins, with aluminum being of particular concern. Major sources of aluminum exposure are cookware, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products. 

The study authors detail that the average consumer takes in approximately 10 mg of aluminum a day, of which up to 1 percent undergoes absorption. 

(A) Vehicle control showing normal cells. (B) Aluminum chloride-treated showing shrunken, vacuolated and degenerated neurons.It can traverse through the blood-brain barrier and is believed to negatively impact the central nervous system, especially in older adults.

The duration of exposure further leads to neurodegenerative diseases, says Antony, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

“As the burden of neurodegenerative diseases is growing day by day worldwide, more focused research is essential in preventing aluminum-induced neurotoxicity with curcumin,” he explains.

Crucially, curcumin is known for its ability to bind to metals such as aluminum. “Therefore, it could offer neuroprotection from the metal’s potentially toxic effects,” explains lead researcher Dr. David Banji, professor and director of the postgraduate program in Toxicology at Jazan University in Saudi Arabia.

“But poor absorption and low blood levels of free curcumin after oral intake pose a major limitation for delivering its full clinical benefits,” he details.

For example, curcumin’s characteristic low solubility, rapid metabolism and quick elimination hampers its absorption into the bloodstream.

“This is what spurred us to examine BCM-95 where curcumin, the key turmeric extract, is combined with the purified essential oil component of turmeric as a bioavailability enhancer.”

Significant health benefits observed
Turmeric extract and BCM-95 were orally given to lab mice at doses of 25 and 50 mg per kg body weight daily. A positive control group ran in parallel.

BCM-95 is a synergestic combination of curcumin, the active turmeric extract, with turmeric essential oil.Neurotoxicity was induced by injecting aluminum chloride (40 mg per kg daily), and the effect of the intervention was studied for 45 days.

After the 45 days, the BCM-95 complex showed it reversed the cognitive impairment exhibited by aluminum exposure. 

Besides enabling more plasma bioavailability, the combination upregulated the expression of antioxidants, thereby minimizing microglia activation and subsequent neuronal damage. 

Supplementation improved spatial learning and memory significantly, say the study authors. Also, it demonstrated abilities to prevent neurotoxicity significantly better than standard turmeric extracts. 

“Standard curcumin is not able to prevent neurotoxicity and also unable to deliver free curcumin in the brain. Even though both contain curcumin, BCM-95 is the true bioavailable curcumin providing clinical benefits,” says Antony.

Antony previously shared his insights with NutritionInsight on the traceability trend last year and Arjuna Natural’s organic BCM-95 launch.

By Anni Schleicher