Development of a User-Friendly Curcumin (Curcuma Longa) and Piperine (Piper Nigrum) Incorporated Capsule as a Food Supplement

Black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) has been used by humans for thousands of years. People in ancient Sri Lanka used black pepper for various purposes, including traditional medicine and culinary uses. A spice in the Piperaceae family known as black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) contains an alkaloid named piperine, which imparts the pungency of black pepper. Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) has been used for culinary, cosmetic, and medicinal purposes. Curcumin (curcumin â… ) is the most essential principal bioactive compound present in turmeric naturally. Curcumin has been confirmed to have beneficial antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antifungal actions. The combination of piperine and curcumin enhances the bioavailability and absorption of curcumin. The grounded black pepper and turmeric powder samples were used to extract oleoresins of black pepper and turmeric. Techniques were adapted to crystallize and purify piperine and curcumin from turmeric and pepper. A lipid-based formulation combining piperine and curcumin was developed, as well as a soft gelatin-based encapsulation method. According to proximate analysis, the average moisture content of ground black pepper samples taken from the Matale area was 13.6392 ± 0.3643 %, and the average moisture content of turmeric powder samples was 13.9877 ± 0.2651 %. The average yield of piperine was 8.3115 ± 3.0359 %, and the average yield of crude curcuminoids was 11.1020 ± 0.9580 %. Piperine and curcumin were loaded into fish oil and cocoa butter using ethanol as a carrier. Lipid-based piperine and curcumin-loaded drug formulations were carried out using soft gelatin encapsulation.