Interaction of curcumin with berberine hydrochloride in Nanoemulsion

Curcumin, a phytochemical, has various pharmacological uses so also is berberine hydrochloride, a phytochemical alkaloid. These chemicals are extensively used in many bodily ailments, ranging from cancer, obesity and attendant diabetes including glaucoma to anti-inflammation. However, these compounds are quite insoluble in an aqueous system, which limits their bioavailability but they are liberally soluble in nanoemulsion. Nanoemulsion is a nano-sized oil droplet that is dispersed in water using a surface-active agent (surfactant), oil and a short chain alcohol. An investigation of the interaction between these pharmacologically important compounds was carried out in this medium using steady-state fluorescence and UV-Vis spectroscopic techniques. The data obtained showed that this interaction led to the quenching of curcumin fluorescence by berberine hydrochloride with a bi-molecular quenching rate constant of 2.839 x 1013/M-s and an interaction constant of 3.63 x 1103 in a 1:1 molar complexation ratio. Using the Forster mechanism, the estimated Forster radius for this interaction (Ro) is estimated to be about 27.70 Å and the interaction distance (r) between these reacting molecules is calculated to be about 31.40 Å.