How are insoluble medicines absorbed by the body?

[Igis]

How are medicines, in the form of pills that are not water soluble, absorbed by the body? An example is curcumin.

[Paxiled]

Maybe you don't understand how herbal remedies are made.  A plant is put into alcohol, the alcohol extracts the active ingredients, and that is then put either into a liquid extract or put into a capsule or pill.  As far as the body knows it is taking in the plant already broken down some into its constituent chemicals, of which there are many.  Circumin is just one of many many chemicals in turmeric, but is thought to be of the most importance so many supplements standardize for a certain percentage of circumin, making it closer to a drug than traditional extracts but not engineered to be completely artificial in action.  Some fat soluble nutrients are extracted with carbon dioxide.  Hope this helps, but maybe you would benefit by reading a good book on both digestion and on herbology.

[Paxiled]

I've already answered this!  Circumin is an ingredient in the herb turmeric.  It is digested and it is soluble -- it's a food -- so I don't know where you're getting this idea from.  You're not taking circumin, you're taking turmeric standardized for circumin concentration.  Bioperine is supposed to make everything better absorbed that is digested, but of course if something isn't in fact soluble, like a rock, well, it won't help.  Whether bioperine works or not in the real world I have no idea, but some studies show it does.  

[Igis]

Okay. Going back to the reason why I asked this question, does Curcumin get absorbed by the stomach or intestines? It is not soluble. There is not information about this on the internet. Every source says that taking it with bioperine which is a pepper extract will improve absorption by 2000%.

[Paxiled]

No, medications like Ativan have to be engineered to bypass the digestive system generally because the body doesn't recognize them as food and in fact often recognizes them as toxins to be fought.  They have to be engineered to avoid the immune system, which means they have to be able to be metabolized by the liver and not rejected, able to cross the blood/brain barrier, able to avoid the digestive system in most cases.  This is done in different ways by different drugs, but Ativan and most brain neurotransmitter affecting drugs use the pathway taken by magnesium to get to where it needs to go.  That's often why taking magnesium at the same time as these drugs blocks them from working and they block magnesium from being absorbed.  

[Igis]

Okay so they don't have to be in a solution in order to be absorbed by the stomach or intestines? I am trying to increase the absorption of curcumin and that's the reason why I'm asking this question. Another example would be Ativan as a medicine that's not soluble. It is just digested and absorbed by the stomach and intertines?

[Paxiled]

By the way, they're not insoluble  -- they're either fat or water soluble or a little of both, and also are absorbed by the liver and the intestinal tract and stomach and then split apart and sent to where they're needed or excreted just as would happen if you ate broccoli.

[Paxiled]

Circumin isn't a "medicine" per se, it's one ingredient in the herb turmeric.  It is digested as other food is digested.