Form Comparison

BCM-95 Curcumin vs Colloidal Curcumin

How BCM-95 curcumin and colloidal curcumin differ in potency, absorption, tolerance, and cost.

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Quick verdict. Both are enhanced, piperine-free forms used for osteoarthritis, and their fold-increase claims (about 7x for BCM-95, 27x for Theracurmin) come from different study designs that cannot be ranked against each other. Theracurmin works at the smallest dose, 90-180 mg, and costs the most. Choose BCM-95 for a moderate price and colloidal curcumin if you want the fewest milligrams.

Side by Side

Curcumin with Turmeric Oil (BCM-95) Colloidal Curcumin (Theracurmin)
Absorption Moderate Moderate
How it is absorbed Curcuminoids recombined with turmeric essential oil. A small crossover study reported about sevenfold higher blood curcumin than standard curcumin. Submicron curcumin particles dispersed with gum ghatti. Plasma curcumin was about 27-fold higher than with curcumin powder in a small human study.
Typical dose 500-1,000 mg daily 90-180 mg curcumin daily
Common uses osteoarthritis pain, inflammation osteoarthritis pain
Side effects GI upset. GI upset.
Cost Moderate High
Also called BCM-95, Biocurcumax, CurcuWIN Theracurmin, nano-curcumin

When to Choose Curcumin with Turmeric Oil (BCM-95)

Choose BCM-95 curcumin when you want an enhanced form without piperine or lecithin. CurcuWIN uses a different water-dispersible technology; the BCM-95 data do not apply to it.

Curcumin with Turmeric Oil (BCM-95)

Choose BCM-95 curcumin when you want an enhanced form without piperine or lecithin.

What to look for: Curcumin with Turmeric Oil named on the Supplement Facts panel, with the amount per serving stated.

Find on iHerb Affiliate link

When to Choose Colloidal Curcumin (Theracurmin)

Choose colloidal curcumin when you want the highest blood levels per milligram and accept the price. Fold-increase claims across brands come from different study designs and cannot be ranked against each other.

Colloidal Curcumin (Theracurmin)

High blood levels at small doses. The price reflects the technology.

What to look for: Theracurmin, 90-180 mg curcumin daily.

Find on iHerb Affiliate link

Products on Titrate

5,316 of the 214,745 labels in the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database list turmeric and curcumin as an active ingredient (2,641 on market). 1,778 are sold as turmeric and curcumin products by name.

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Turmeric and Curcumin does not have its own search category yet. Each product above links to its full label in the NIH database.

Related

References

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Turmeric.

EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food (ANS). Scientific Opinion on the re-evaluation of curcumin (E 100) as a food additive. EFSA J. 2010;8(9):1679.

Shoba G, Joy D, Joseph T, Majeed M, Rajendran R, Srinivas PS. Influence of piperine on the pharmacokinetics of curcumin in animals and human volunteers. Planta Med. 1998;64(4):353-356.

Anand P, Kunnumakkara AB, Newman RA, Aggarwal BB. Bioavailability of curcumin: problems and promises. Mol Pharm. 2007;4(6):807-818.

Antony B, Merina B, Iyer VS, Judy N, Lennertz K, Joyal S. A pilot cross-over study to evaluate human oral bioavailability of BCM-95CG (Biocurcumax), a novel bioenhanced preparation of curcumin. Indian J Pharm Sci. 2008;70(4):445-449.

Cuomo J, Appendino G, Dern AS, et al. Comparative absorption of a standardized curcuminoid mixture and its lecithin formulation. J Nat Prod. 2011;74(4):664-669.

Sasaki H, Sunagawa Y, Takahashi K, et al. Innovative preparation of curcumin for improved oral bioavailability. Biol Pharm Bull. 2011;34(5):660-665.

Kuptniratsaikul V, Dajpratham P, Taechaarpornkul W, et al. Efficacy and safety of Curcuma domestica extracts compared with ibuprofen in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a multicenter study. Clin Interv Aging. 2014;9:451-458.

Daily JW, Yang M, Park S. Efficacy of turmeric extracts and curcumin for alleviating the symptoms of joint arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. J Med Food. 2016;19(8):717-729.

Nelson KM, Dahlin JL, Bisson J, Graham J, Pauli GF, Walters MA. The essential medicinal chemistry of curcumin. J Med Chem. 2017;60(5):1620-1637.

Halegoua-DeMarzio D, Navarro V, Ahmad J, et al. Liver injury associated with turmeric: a growing problem. Ten cases from the Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network [DILIN]. Am J Med. 2023;136(2):200-206.