Form Comparison

BCM-95 Curcumin vs Curcumin with Piperine

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

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Quick verdict. Piperine is the cheaper enhancer, but it slows clearance of many drugs. BCM-95 boosts absorption with turmeric oil instead, about sevenfold in a small study, with no piperine interaction. Choose curcumin with piperine if you take no medications, and BCM-95 if you take prescription drugs.

Side by Side

Curcumin with Turmeric Oil (BCM-95) Curcumin with Piperine
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. Piperine inhibits glucuronidation and P-glycoprotein efflux. 20 mg of piperine raised plasma curcumin about twentyfold over curcumin alone in one small human study.
Typical dose 500-1,000 mg daily 500-2,000 mg curcumin with 5-20 mg piperine
Common uses osteoarthritis pain, inflammation osteoarthritis pain, inflammation
Side effects GI upset. Piperine slows clearance of many drugs.
Cost Moderate Low
Also called BCM-95, Biocurcumax, CurcuWIN BioPerine, curcumin with black pepper extract

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.

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When to Choose Curcumin with Piperine

Choose curcumin with piperine when you take no medications with narrow dosing margins. The same mechanism that raises curcumin levels raises levels of other drugs.

Curcumin with Piperine

Effective at raising curcumin levels by slowing drug clearance, which is the problem for anyone on medication.

What to look for: Only if you take no interacting drugs. Piperine content stated, usually 5-10 mg.

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.