Description
Curcumin phytosome at 500 mg a serving, 60 servings, about 59 cents each. The curcumin is complexed with sunflower derived phospholipid rather than left as a plain extract, and that is the entire product. A curcumin phytosome is bought for one measurable reason, which is how much curcuminoid ends up in blood, and the arithmetic behind that deserves stating properly.
On the panel
| Complex | curcumin bound to sunflower phospholipid, 500 mg per serving |
|---|---|
| Curcuminoid content | around a fifth of the complex by weight |
| Comparison | a 95 percent extract is almost all curcuminoid by weight |
| Phospholipid source | sunflower, not soy |
| Servings | 60, about 59 cents each |
| No piperine | the absorption route here is the phospholipid |
| Testing | curcuminoid content assayed per lot |
The unflattering arithmetic on a curcumin phytosome label
A phytosome is roughly one part curcuminoid to four parts phospholipid by weight, so 500 mg of the complex carries on the order of 100 mg of curcuminoids. A 500 mg capsule of standard 95 percent turmeric extract carries about 475 mg. On content alone, the cheap capsule wins by a factor of four or five.
So the case for a curcumin phytosome rests entirely on absorption, and it has to, because on milligrams of curcuminoid it loses badly. Any seller who shows you only the 500 mg figure and not the curcuminoid fraction is hiding the losing half of the comparison.
What the pharmacokinetic studies measured
Published crossover studies have given the phospholipid complex and an equivalent dose of unformulated extract to the same subjects and measured plasma curcuminoid concentrations over several hours. The complex returned substantially higher readings, reported as multiples rather than percentages, with the comparison made against curcuminoid content rather than total capsule weight.
Clinical trials using the complex administered around 1,000 mg a day, usually as two 500 mg doses, over two to eight months, with WOMAC joint scores and inflammatory markers as the measured endpoints. That is a description of what was administered and measured in the literature, and not a claim about this bottle.
Phospholipid against piperine
There are two commercial answers to curcumin’s poor absorption. One is a phospholipid complex, as here. The other is black pepper extract, piperine, which works by slowing metabolism of the compound rather than by improving its uptake, and which brings its own drug interaction considerations. Both routes appear on the herbals page with their mechanisms stated rather than implied.
Curcumin phytosome against a 95 percent extract with piperine
These are the two routes a buyer actually chooses between, and they cost about the same per day. The piperine route supplies far more curcuminoid for the money and brings a drug interaction with it. The phospholipid route supplies less curcuminoid, no piperine, and the pharmacokinetic literature behind the complex. Neither is obviously correct, and anyone presenting it as obvious is selling one of them.
Why a curcumin phytosome serving is two capsules
Because the trials administered about 1,000 mg of the complex a day and a capsule holds 500. Units per serving and servings per container are printed next to each other for that reason, since a 60 capsule bottle of curcumin phytosome at two a day is a month rather than two.
Sunflower rather than soy
Phytosome products are made with either, and the lecithin source is stated here because a soy derived phospholipid matters to anyone avoiding soy. Purified phospholipid carries no meaningful protein, but the allergen question is the buyer’s to decide rather than ours to wave away.
Taking it, and the staining
With food containing fat, since a curcumin phytosome is lipid based. Curcumin is a textile dye in its other life and it will mark a worktop, a shirt and a plastic container permanently. A capsule that breaks in a pocket is a lesson rather than a defect.
Testing
Every lot is assayed for curcuminoid content by an independent laboratory, with identity confirmation, heavy metals, pesticides and microbials on the same certificate. Turmeric has a documented history of adulteration with synthetic dyes and with lead chromate used to brighten the colour, so the metals line on a turmeric certificate deserves a careful read. For a free government summary of what has been studied, see the NCCIH herbs at a glance series, and the rest of this shelf is on the joint and bone page.
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