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The golden spice turmeric with its main bioactive component curcumin is one of the most popular and extensively studied nutraceuticals. Despite numerous pre-clinical studies reporting positive pharmacodynamics of turmeric extracts and curcumin, the main issues in translating the pharmacological effects to clinical efficacy have been to overcome its poor pharmacokinetics and to deliver significant amounts of the biologically relevant forms of the actives to various tissues. This review is aimed at providing a first critical evaluation of the current published literature with the novel curcumagalactomannoside (CGM) formulation of curcumin using fenugreek galactomannan dietary fibre, specifically designed to address curcumin poor pharmacokinetics. We describe CGM and its technology as a food-grade formulation to deliver 'free' unconjugated curcuminoids with enhanced bioavailability and improved pharmacokinetic properties. The therapeutic relevance of improving bioavailability of 'free' curcuminoids and some of the technical challenges in the measurement of the 'free' form of curcuminoids in plasma and tissues are also discussed. A total of twenty-six manuscripts are reviewed here, including fourteen pre-clinical and twelve clinical studies that have investigated CGM pharmacokinetics, safety and efficacy in various animal models and human conditions. Overall current scientific evidence suggests CGM formulation has improved bioavailability and tissue distribution of the biologically relevant unconjugated forms of turmeric actives called 'free' curcuminoids that may be responsible for the superior clinical outcomes reported with CGM treatments in comparison with unformulated standard curcumin across multiple studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel highly bioavailable curcumin-galactomannan (CGM) formulation was shown to have improved blood-brain-barrier (BBB) permeability of free curcuminoids in animal models; however, this has not been established in humans. The present study was conducted to determine the functional effects of CGM on brain waves in healthy individuals, owing to its BBB permeability. A total of 18 healthy volunteers aged 35–65 were randomly assigned to consume 500 mg CGM, Unformulated curcumin (UC) or Placebo capsules twice daily for 30 days. Electroencephalogram (EEG) measurements, audio-visual reaction time tests and a working memory test were conducted at baseline and after 30 days. Supplementation of CGM resulted in a significant increase in α- and β-waves (p < 0.05) as well as a significant reduction in α/β ratio in comparison with unformulated curcumin and placebo groups. Furthermore, the CGM showed significant reduction in the audio-reaction time (29.8 %; p < 0.05) in comparison with placebo and 24.6% (p < 0.05) with unformulated curcumin. The choice-based visual-reaction time was also significantly decreased (36%) in CGM as compared to unformulated curcumin and placebo which produced 15.36% and 5.2% respectively. The observed increase in α and β waves and reduction in α/β ratio in the CGM group suggest that CGM can influence the brain waves in healthy subjects in a manner consistent with penetration of the blood-brain-barrier. The EEG results correlated with improved audio-visual and working memory tests which further support the role of CGM on memory improvements and fatigue reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]