Curcumin Content

In the turmeric plant, synthesis of curcumin starts 120 days after planting and reaches optimum at 180—190 days after flowering. Curcumin synthesis is highly dependent on location, agroclimatic conditions, genotypes and cultural practices. Thus, multilocational trials carried out at different districts in India (Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh) indicated significant variations in curcumin content (Zachariah et al., 1998). 

Sastry, B.S. (1 970) Curcumin content of turmeric. Research and Industry 15, 258-260. 

Oleoresin Turmeric Curcumin Content (or Color Value equivalent) Between 1% and 45%, as specified on the label. 

Curcumin Determine as directed under Curcumin Content, Appendix VIII. 

The turmeric plant. Curcuma longa, is cultivated in maty tropical countries, with the primary conunercial production taking place in India. It has been used as a spice for thousands of years and is one of the principal ingredients in curry. The main colouring pigment is curcumin. The turmeric roots are harvested around February, ground to a powder and subsequently extracted with solvent. The resulting turmeric oleoresin has a curcumin content of 37 to 55% and the same relative proportion of flavour compounds and colour as in the spice. 

The pure colom is produced by further crystallisation of the oleoresin resulting in a product with minimum 90% curcumin and very little of the flavour compounds. It is insoluble in water and poorly soluble in other solvents. Typical products for use in the food industry have a curcumin content of 4 to 10% and are achieved by dispersing pure curcumin in a mixture of food-grade solvent and emulsifier, by dissolving in vegetable oil or by spraying onto starch. 

Tumeric. Curcumin content (or color index), starch. 

The most serious problem with curcumin is instability to light. One recommendation is that curcumin should not be used in products that are exposed to light unless the moisture content is very low. A confectionery product that fits this description is boiled sweets. The heat stability of curcumin is sufficiently good that it can withstand 140°C for 15 min in a boiled sweet mass. 

An interesting example of the contamination risks which may be caused by a laboratory vessel is that of boron. Determination of very low boron concentrations, involves a prior separation by distillation and subsequent analysis by spectrometry, with a suitable reagent such a curcumin or carminic acid. The use of laboratory vessels made of borosilicate glass (such as Duran or Pyrex) could lead to very large errors in the boron content found. Such errors are caused by sample contamination from the boron present in the glassware. 

The pure oleoresin produced by solvents normally contains only pure curcumin, in a crystalline form. It is hardly soluble in liquid- and supercritical CO2- Even at an extraction pressure of 450 bar, and with 2 hours extraction time at 65°C, only 20% of the initial curcumin can be extracted. On the other hand, all the volatile oil and fatty oil is extracted, and a fat-free curcumin-starch mixture with a very low flavour-content can be produced. The total extraction yields are between 5 to 12%, with mostly fatty oil and volatile oil, and about 10% curcumin in the extract. 

Oleoresin Turmeric Obtained by the solvent extraction of the dried rhizomes of Curcuma longa L. (Fam Zingiberaceae) as a yellow-orange to red-brown, viscous liquid with a characteristic odor and flavor. The content of curcumin normally varies, and the product is generally standardized according to the label declaration. 

The curves are uniform and contain no discontinuities. As the alcohol content increases, the sensitivity ratio may grow smaller or larger continually as in the case of phenolphthalein, or it may approach a maximum or minimum constant value at a certain alcohol concentration. Nitramine, thymol blue (in acid or alkaline solution), and curcumin behave in the latter fashion. 

Cardiotoxicity is one of the major problems associated with administration of many chemotherapentic agents. Venkatesan " examined the protective effect of curcumin on acute adriamycin (ADR) myocardial toxicity in rats. ADR toxicity, induced by a single intraperitoneal injection (30mg/kg), was revealed by elevated serum creatine kinase (CK) and LDH. The level of the hpid peroxidation prodncts, conjugated dienes, and malondialdehyde were markedly elevated by ADR. ADR also caused a decrease in myocardial glutathione content and glntathione peroxidase achvity and an increase in... 

For determination of the total boron content, the spectrophotometric curcumin method is described, which was first applied to seawater by Greenhalgh and Riley (1962) but was modified and simplified by Uppstrdm (1968). An outline of the mannitol-boric acid method is presented in Section 11.2.7.7. 

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