A kinetic degradation study of curcumin in its free form and loaded in Polymeric micelles

Curcumin, a phenolic compound, possesses many pharmacological activities and is under clinical evaluation to treat different diseases. However, conflicting data about its stability have been reported. In this study, the kinetic degradation of curcumin from a natural curcuminoid mixture under various conditions (pH, temperature, and dielectric constant of the medium) was investigated. Moreover, the degradation of pure curcumin at some selected conditions was also determined. To fully solubilize curcumin and to prevent precipitation of curcumin that occurs when low concentrations of co–solvent are present, a 50:50 (v/v) aqueous buffer/methanol mixture was used as standard medium to study its degradation kinetics.