Oleoresins Curcumin Content

Turmeric oleoresin. Curcumin content (or color index). 

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

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. 

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. 

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