LAUSR

Abstract Curcumin has phenomenal medicinal properties but is insoluble in water which restricts its bioavailability. Here, we report utilization of tragacanth gum for delivery of curcumin by developing a stable gum-curcumin (GC) suspension using microfluidization. Microfluidization of GC suspension was performed at 100 & 200 MPa pressure with 1–12 processing passes. Results indicated decrease in particle size with increase in number of microfluidization passes (303 nm after 100 MPa/12th pass with 1.5 g/dL tragacanth concentration). SEM of control and TEM of 100 MPa/12th pass sample showed distinct differences in the morphology induced by microfluidization wherein spherical curcumin particles were found dissolved in gum matrix with effective size of 272 nm. Total soluble solids (TSS) of microfluidized suspension increased with increment in number of passes with highest TSS of 1.34 and 1.36 °Bx at 100 & 200 MPa, respectively after 12 processing passes. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed melting point of control and microfluidized samples in the range of 118.6–124.7 °C. Rheology of microfluidized GC suspensions indicated a pseudoplastic (shear thinning) behavior under applied stress. Results suggest that microfluidization can be used to produce sub-micron size tragacanth gum based curcumin suspension for potential application as curcumin delivery system in functional foods and nutraceuticals.