Form Comparison

Colloidal Curcumin vs Curcumin with Piperine

How colloidal curcumin and curcumin with piperine differ in potency, absorption, tolerance, and cost.

This page contains affiliate links. Titrate earns a small commission when you purchase through them, at no cost to you. This does not affect our recommendations.

Quick verdict. Curcumin with piperine is the cheapest enhanced option, but piperine interferes with the clearance of many drugs. Theracurmin raises plasma curcumin without piperine at 90-180 mg a day and costs considerably more. Choose piperine products if you take no medications, and colloidal curcumin if you do and want high blood levels.

Side by Side

Colloidal Curcumin (Theracurmin) Curcumin with Piperine
Absorption Moderate Moderate
How it is absorbed Submicron curcumin particles dispersed with gum ghatti. Plasma curcumin was about 27-fold higher than with curcumin powder in a small human study. 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 90-180 mg curcumin daily 500-2,000 mg curcumin with 5-20 mg piperine
Common uses osteoarthritis pain osteoarthritis pain, inflammation
Side effects GI upset. Piperine slows clearance of many drugs.
Cost High Low
Also called Theracurmin, nano-curcumin BioPerine, curcumin with black pepper extract

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

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.

Open supplement search

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.