Marine-and Plant-Based Nanoemulsion Platforms Enhance the Anticancer Activity of Curcumin In Vitro

Q: Why is curcumin difficult to use therapeutically?

Curcumin has poor aqueous solubility and limited bioavailability, which constrains its therapeutic utility, and it also faces challenges such as rapid metabolism and limited oxidative stability.

Q: What lipid sources were used to prepare the nanoemulsion platforms?

The study used marine lipids from salmon oil and plant lipids from rapeseed oil to formulate curcumin-loaded nanoemulsions for improved delivery.

Q: What were the in vitro findings for the anticancer effect on MCF-7 cells?

Curcumin-loaded nanoemulsions significantly reduced MCF-7 human breast cancer cell proliferation in vitro (p < 0.001), supporting the potential of lipid-based nanoemulsions as a delivery platform.

Sep 30, 2026

Uploaded by Quinn Holloway

Curcumin is a natural bioactive compound with demonstrated anticancer activity, but its poor aqueous solubility and limited bioavailability restrict therapeutic use. This study formulated nanoemulsions using marine lipids (salmon oil) and plant lipids (rapeseed oil) to improve curcumin solubility and delivery. Fatty acid profiles and lipid class distributions were characterized, and the resulting nanoemulsions showed physical stability for 30 days at 25°C while curcumin loading reduced droplet size. In vitro cytotoxicity assays showed significant proliferation reduction in MCF-7 breast cancer cells (p<0.001), indicating a promising curcumin delivery platform.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

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Pages17

Reading Time43 min

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Abstract

Keywords

1. Introduction

Article Marine-and Plant-Based Nanoemulsion Platforms Enhance the Anticancer Activity of Curcumin In Vitro Mahmoud Hasan 1,†, Kamil Elkhoury 1,2,†, Cyril J. F. Kahn 1, Michel Linder 1 and Elmira Arab-Tehrany 1, * Academic Editors: Honorina Cidade, Hassan Bousbaa and Patrícia M. A. Silva Received: 25 November 2025 Revised: 14 December 2025 Accepted: 16 December 2025 Published: 19 December 2025 Copyright: © 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. 1 LIBio, Université de Lorraine, F-54000 Nancy, France; [mahmoud.hasan@univ-lorraine.fr](mahmoud.hasan@univ-lorraine.fr) (M.H.); [cyril.kahn@univ-lorraine.fr](cyril.kahn@univ-lorraine.fr) (C.J.F.K.); [michel.linder@univ-lorraine.fr](michel.linder@univ-lorraine.fr) (M.L.) 2 Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 26666, United Arab Emirates * Correspondence: [elmira.arab-tehrany@univ-lorraine.fr](elmira.arab-tehrany@univ-lorraine.fr); Tel.: +33-3-72-74-41-05 † These authors contributed equally to this work. Abstract Curcumin is a natural bioactive compound with demonstrated anticancer activity. However, its poor aqueous solubility and limited bioavailability constrain its therapeutic utility. This study formulated nanoemulsions using marine (salmon oil) and plant (rapeseed oil) lipids to enhance the solubility and delivery of curcumin. The fatty acid profiles and lipid class distributions of both lipid sources were characterized. The resulting nanoemulsions prepared from salmon and rapeseed oils exhibited mean droplet diameters of approximately 170 nm and 220 nm, respectively, and remained physically stable for 30 days at 25 ◦ C. Notably, curcumin-loaded nanoemulsions displayed smaller droplet sizes than their unloaded counterparts, suggesting strong curcumin–lecithin interactions. In vitro cytotoxicity assays demonstrated that the curcumin-loaded nanoemulsions significantly reduced the proliferation of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells (p < 0.001) . Collectively, these findings indicate that lipid-based nanoemulsions represent a promising delivery platform for curcumin in the context of breast cancer therapy. Keywords: emulsions; breast cancer; MCF-7 cells; drug delivery; curcumin; in vitro 1. Introduction Oil-in-water (O/W) nanoemulsions are widely utilized across the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries for the delivery of hydrophobic bioactive compounds, including vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, antimicrobials, antioxidants, phytosterols, and parenteral nutrition components [1,2] . These nanoemulsions are typically formulated by homogenizing an oil phase into an aqueous phase in the presence of water-soluble emulsifiers and stabilizers [3] . The distinctive characteristics of nanoemulsions, including small droplet size, surface charge, and large surface area, enable controlled release kinetics and confer excellent stability against coalescence, flocculation, and gravitational separation [4] . Nevertheless, the primary destabilization mechanism in these systems is Ostwald ripening, which occurs due to the diffusion of the dispersed phase through the continuous aqueous phase. This limitation can be mitigated by incorporating dispersed phases with very low aqueous solubility [5] . Nanoemulsion preparation can be accomplished through either low-energy (chemicalbased) or high-energy (mechanical-based) approaches [6] . Mechanical methods include ultrasound homogenization, high-pressure homogenization, and microfluidization. Surfactants play a critical role during emulsion formation by reducing interfacial tension between the oil and aqueous phases. Recently, phospholipids have gained attention for formulating pharmaceutically acceptable emulsions [7,8] . Lecithin, characterized by its amphiphilic structure comprising two hydrophobic fatty

FAQs

Why is curcumin difficult to use therapeutically?

Curcumin has poor aqueous solubility and limited bioavailability, which constrains its therapeutic utility, and it also faces challenges such as rapid metabolism and limited oxidative stability.

What lipid sources were used to prepare the nanoemulsion platforms?

The study used marine lipids from salmon oil and plant lipids from rapeseed oil to formulate curcumin-loaded nanoemulsions for improved delivery.

What were the in vitro findings for the anticancer effect on MCF-7 cells?

Curcumin-loaded nanoemulsions significantly reduced MCF-7 human breast cancer cell proliferation in vitro (p < 0.001), supporting the potential of lipid-based nanoemulsions as a delivery platform.

Sep 30, 2026

Uploaded by Quinn Holloway