Piperine and curcumin as bioavailability enhancers for drugs

The chemical entities, which when mixed with drugs promote and augments their bioavailability without showing any synergistic effect with the drug are termed as bioenhancers [1]. The toxicity, cost, poor bioavailability and long term administration related to the drugs give rise to the need of bioenhancers which helps in overcoming most of the issues. They can be classified on the basis of their natural origin as well as on the various mechanisms attributed by them when applied in combination with drugs to improve their bioavailability. Herbal bioenhancers play a crucial role in enhancing the bioavailability and bioefficacy of different classes of drugs, such as antihypertensives, anticancer, antiviral, antitubercular and antifungal drugs at low doses [2]. Piper species produce a pungent alkaloid named Piperine or 1-peperoyl piperidine. Several herbal compounds including piperine, quercetin, genistein, naringin, sinomenine, curcumin, and glycyrrhizin have demonstrated capability to improve the pharmacokinetic parameters of several potent active pharmaceutical ingredients [3].