Introduction

A growing body of literature suggests that the minor components in curcumin, namely Bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC) and demethoxycurcumin (DMC) may protect against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and play a role in supporting mental acuity.

• MicroActive Curcumin, A more bioavailable and sustained release formulation of curcumin is 9.7 times more bioavailable than regular curcumin [1].

• In a single dose 10 subject study, all the participants showed better absorption of the curcuminoids from MicroActive Curcumin compared to regular curcumin [1].

• MicroActive Curcumin significantly increased  the plasma levels of the minor curcuminoids especially BDMC [1] .

Studies Supporting Potential Benefits of BDMC in Brain Health

• Studies have shown that BDMC is more potent than curcumin as an anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative and antioxidant agent and may have a protective effect in Alzheimer’s disease. [2,3,4,5]

• BDMC may boost the immune system to clear plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease. [5]

• BDMC has anti-inflammatory properties, which could be beneficial in reducing brain inflammation related to Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. [2]

• BDMC is known to have antioxidant effects, which can help protect brain cells from oxidative stress and improve cognitive function. [6]

• BDMC also inhibits the cholinesterace enzyme system which is assciated with memory and cognitive deficits due to aging as well as with Alzheimer’s disease. Cholinesterase inhibition is a common strategy to treat Alzheimer’s disease. [7] 

• BDMC shows a neuroprotective function in Parkinson’s disease models. [8]

• BDMC may also protect against radiation induced brain injury. [9]

References

1. Madhavi D and Kagan D. Bioavailability of a sustained release formulation of curcumin. Integrative Medicine 2014;13:24-30.

2. Gagliardi S et al. Bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDC)-loaded H-ferritin-nanocages mediate the regulation of inflammation in Alzheimer’s disease patients. Int J Mol Sci, 2022;23(16):9237.

3. Gagliardi S et al. Curcumin and novel synthetic analogs in cell-based studies of Alzheimer’s Disease. Front. Pharmacol. 2018;9:1404.

4. Ravindran J et al. Bisdemethylcurcumin and structurally related hispolon analogues of curcumin exhibit enhanced prooxidant, anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory activities in vitro.Biochem Pharmacol. 2010; 79:1658–66.

5. Fiala et al. Innate immunity and transcription of MGAT-III and Toll-like receptors in alzheimer’s disease patients are improved by bisdemethoxycurcumin. Nat. Acad. Sci, 2007;104: 12849-54.

6. Xu Y et al. Bisdemethoxycurcumin inhibits oxidative stress and antagonizes Alzheimer’s disease by up-regulating SIRT1. Brain Behav 2020;10(7):e01655.

7. Sudeep et al, Kinetics and computational analysis of cholinesterase inhibition by ReverC3, a bisdemethoxycurcumin rich Curcuma longa extract: Relevance to the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, SAGE Open Medicine, 2020; 8:1-9.

8. He D et al. Bisdemethoxycurcumin exerts a cell-protective effect via JAK2/STAT3 signaling in a rotenone-induced Parkinson’s disease model in vitro. Folia Histochem Cytobiol 2020;58(2):127-134.

9. Chang YQ et al. Treatment of radiation-induced brain injury with bisdemethoxycurcumin. Neural Regeneration Research 2023;18:416-421.