From Suspension to Tablet: Advancing Curcumin's Potential via Spray‐Drying Technology

Abstract The study aimed to optimize the spray‐drying process to produce powder from a curcumin suspension (10 g L −1 , curcumin‐to‐pectin ratio of 1:1.5). The suspension was homogenized at 8000 rpm for 40 min, yielding 9.195 g L −1 curcumin with a mean particle size of 5.42 µm and a median particle size of 5.07 µm. Optimal spray‐drying conditions were a curcumin‐to‐maltose ratio of 1:2, an inlet temperature of 170 °C, and a feed flow rate of 15 mL min −1 . The resulting powder was compressed into tablets containing 20 mg curcumin, 1 % polyvinylpyrrolidone K30, 3 % crospovidone, 2 % magnesium stearate, and maltose up to 130 mg. Tablets showed a disintegration time of 13 min 25 s and weight uniformity of 0.200 %. Dissolution testing revealed that tablets had slower initial release but higher overall dissolution than other curcumin dispersions.