This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with BCM-95? It's a relatively new form of curcumin supplement. It's composed of micronized curcuminoid particles combined with the phospholipid phosphatidylcholine and turmeric essential oil (most likely turmerones). BCM-95 is supposed to be about 6 times more absorbable than curcumin with piperine in going from the GI tract to the bloodstream and about 10 times more absorbable than regular standardized 95% turmeric extract. So far, I'm only aware of two manufacturers distributing this form of curcumin, Life Extension Foundation (or LEF) and Europharma though there could be others as well. I currently take one tablespoon, 15 mL or ~ 9.3 g, of whole, organic turmeric and am considering adding this on top of that. Whole turmeric is only about 3% curcumin so my one tablespoon would provide about 280 mg of curcumin. However, whole turmeric does provide turmerones (also about 3% by weight) as well as an antioxidant peptide called turmerin (about 0.1% by weight) both of which are good things so I didn't want to give up on the whole turmeric just yet. Anyways, I would appreciate hearing about any experience that anyone has had with BCM-95 curcumin.

Thanks, NHE

I am the head of scientific affairs for EuroPharma, Inc. We have exclusivity on BCM-95 curcumin for the health food and medical practitioner channels. BCM-95 is between 7 and 10 times better absorbed than plain curcumin which is an advantage when trying to replicate dosages used in clinical trials, which can be many grams. This special form allows fewer capsules to be taken, yet provides higher levels of serum curcuminoids with much longer duration (between 8 and 10 hours).

There is not a substantial body of work on curcumin and MS though researchers are quite interested in it's ability to greatly reduce inflammation and the role it plays in neuronal generation in the brain. It is also an immune system modulator and is a powerful antioxidant. Researchers are not using turmeric because you cannot achieve significant levels of serum curcuminoids with turmeric alone.

Our product is called CuraMed. It is clinically studied for absorption and we have published human studies on Alzheimers Disease, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, cholesterol and a study not yet completed on cervical dysplasia. I don't want to sound like a salesperson on a support site. If you need more info my email is cmyers@EuroPharmausa.com Best wishes.

Thank you for the prompt input. I was really hoping for some member feedback though. Perhaps you can answer this question while you're here. I find the labeling of the Curamed product confusing. It indicates that it provides a dosage of 375 mg of BCM-95, 250 mg of that is curcumin. The other 125 mg are the phosphatidylcholine and turmeric essential oil. If the product is 10 times more absorbable than a regular 95% standardized plain turmeric extract, then shouldn't the front of the label indicate that it's equivalent to 2500 mg instead of 3750 mg. The math seems straight forward, 10 x 250 mg.

NHE

Here are some other questions. How should BCM-95 curcumin be consumed to optimize its effectiveness. For example, should it be taken with meals or between meals? Would consuming it along with my daily dose of whole turmeric affect its absorbance? Lastly, are there any other supplements or medications that would be contraindicated with BCM-95 curcumin and should BCM-95 curcumin be taken a separate time of day from these supplements or medications?

Thanks, NHE

I would like to add that there is a somewhat new form of Turmeric/Cucrcuminoids Complex with BCM-95 that comes in a Softgel "Curcu-Gel Ultra" that contain 500 mg of "Curcuminnoids Complex".

Since it is in a soy oil gelcap it would probably dissolve in the small intestine and provide better absorption.

I get mine from EPIC

http://www.epic4health.com/cuul500mgena.html


jackD

Jack,
Thanks for the info. So much for the alleged claims of "exclusivity" mentioned above by Cheryl. So, if this supplement contains 500 mg of BCM-95, then it should be providing 333 mg of curcuminods. At 8-10x increased bioavailability, this would be the equivalent of around 2.7-3.3 g of plain 95% standardized curcumin. By the way, how many of these do you take per day? Have you noticed any difference since starting this supplement?

NHE

Sorry I was not able to comment earlier. Regarding exclusivity, our company does have exclusivity on BCM-95 curcumin in both the health food store and professional channels. We do not have exclusivity on internet or veterinary sites. I hope this helps clarify the issue. BCM-95 Curcumin is a clinically studied raw material. Our finished product is called CuraMed, which we create to our specifications. We have several products containing this type of curcumin in formulas that contain other ingredients for different applications. However, if you are looking for the curcumin-only product, it is CuraMed. Regardless of where you decide to obtain this form of curcumin, it is highly effective because of its purity, its natural profile of all the curcuminoids, and its excellent absorption. Good luck and best wishes for health and healing--Cheryl

Here is a link to a form of curcumin that says it is 29% more absorbable

http://www.moproweb.de/IDM/News/Meriva~ ... ones..html

Thanks for the interesting article. By the way, it claimed that this formulation of curcumin was 29 times more absorbable, not just 29% (in percentage terms that would be 2900%).

NHE

After I posted I wondered about that. Excellent!

This journal article showed a five fold increase in plasma curcumin level with Meriva phytosome curcumin. That's quite a difference from 29x!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17051370



NHE

The article appears to be referencing this paper.

Comparative absorption of a standardized curcuminoid mixture and its lecithin formulation.
J Nat Prod. 2011 Apr 25;74(4):664-9.

Of course, without access to the full paper it is difficult to evaluate this study. Complicating matters somewhat is the fact that the research was done by USANA, a company that sells a Meriva phytosome curcumin supplement.

NHE

I take curcumin religiously, so was very happy to read there was a more optimised version. But following all the links and reading the documents, its hard to sort out fact from advertising. I guess I will just have to buy a bottle of each and try them for myself. I am a little dubious of Life Extension curcumin due to a previous product they had as a capsule full of powdered curcumin extract. The capsuled leaked powder which got on your hands and left marks if you didn't wash it off. As well as leaving the taste in your mouth. But this is a smaller capsule, and hopefully they have learned... I obviously haven't

http://www.iherb.com/Life-Extension-Super-BIO-Curcumin-400-mg-60-Veggie-Caps/15211?at=0
http://www.iherb.com/Source-Naturals-Meriva-Turmeric-Complex-500-mg-120-Tablets/28193?at=0

Anyway, one thing I did stumble across while looking into this (which will be a new post in a different forum ) is that curcumin is an Iron chelator, so people taking larger doses may want to track the iron in their blood tests.

Hi CureOrBust,
I found it interesting to discover that 500 mg of Meriva phytosome curcumin only contains about 96 mg of curcuminoids. A sample product from Doctor's Best. Based on the molecular weight of phosphatidylcholine and curcumin, this represents a 2:1 ratio of phospholipid:curcumin.

In contrast, the 400 mg of BCM-95 curcumin would give you about 267 mg of curcumin. I guess which one you choose would be based on whose claims you believe for increased absorption, i.e., 8-10x for BCM-95 or 5-24x for Meriva phytosome (note that the 5x data for Meriva was in a study using rats which might be different from people). If we assume 10x for BCM-95 using the data from Europharma and 24x for Meriva phytosome from the USANA study, then we are comparing very similar numbers, 2667 mg vs. 2304 mg curcumin equivalents respectively.

On another topic, here's a free review paper discussing various phytosome complexes.

For example, a phosphatidylcholine+EGCG complex increased the absorption of EGCG by 2x. Natural Factors has this product available. However, the EGCG content seems a bit on the low side at only 7 mg. Even with the 2x absorption, one would probably get more from drinking a cup of green tea. Indeed, the book "Green Tea" by Nadine Taylor indicates that the average cup of green tea contains 50-100 mg of catechins.

There was a Dr. Oz show a while back where he said that adding lemon juice will acidify green tea and make the polyphenols more absorbable (I don't know by how much though). I dislike the tast of lemon with my green tea so I've been adding a small amount of citric acid (it's pretty inexpensive when bought in bulk from the local health food store, it's also easier than continually cutting up and squeezing a bunch of lemons).


NHE

Here's another source for BCM-95 curcumin. This one is from Progressive Laboratories. I should note that I've never heard of this company before and cannot make any recommendations regarding their products.

NHE