Curcuma longa L.

Zingiberaceae

Common Names:
Ath-kaha, Kaha (S)
Manjal (T)
Turmeric (E)
Aneshta, Nisha (Sa)

Traditional Knowledge

Useful plant parts :
Rhizome

Uses in traditional medicine :

Thick decoction of the rhizome is a good antiseptic and used to wash eczema before applying medicine
Applied externally on bruises, sprains and wounds
Taken Internally as an anthelmintic
Relieves colds in the head and catarrh

Scientific Research

Chemical constituents:

Curcuminoids: curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, bisdemethoxycurcumin, turmerone from rhizome

Bioactivity :

Turmeric oil and curcumin: antifungal; turmerone: inhibits platelet aggregation; alcoholic extract of rhizomes: antidepressant, hypotensive and bradycardic effects; aqueous extract of rhizome: hepatoprotective in hepatits B virus infection, reversible antifertility effects in males, prevents UVB induced skin ageing; curcumin and its derivatives: prevention of vascular dysfunction, cytotoxic, antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, anticancer

Clinical:

Curcumin: demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity and induces contraction of the human gallbladder

Note :

Rhizome powder is used to prepare foods

References :

Aplsarlyakul A. et al., (1995), Antifungal activity of turmeric oil extracted from Curcuma longa (Zingiberaceae), Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 49, 163-169.

Adaramoye, O. A. et al., (2009), Hypotensive and endothelium- independent vasorelaxant effects of methanolic extract from Curcuma longa L. in rats, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 124, 457-462.

Balaji, S. and Chempakam, B., (2010), Toxicity prediction of compounds from turmeric (Curcuma longa L), Food and Chemical Toxicology, 48, 2951-2959.

Chainani-Wu, N., (2003), Safety and Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Curcumin: A Component of Tumeric (Curcuma longa), The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 9(1), 161-168.

Jayaprakasha, G. K. et al., (2005), Chemistry and biological activities of C. longa, Trends in Food Science & Technology, 16, 533-548.

Kim, H. J. et al., (2009), Antiviral effect of Curcuma longa Linn extract against hepatitis B virus replication, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 124, 189-196.

Kunnumakkara, A. B. et al., (2008), Curcumin inhibits proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis and metastasis of different cancers through interaction with multiple cell signaling proteins, Cancer Letters, 269, 199-225.

Lee, H. S., (2006), Antiplatelet property of Curcuma longa L. rhizome- derived ar-turmerone, Bioresource Technology, 97, 1372-1376.

Mishra, R. K. and Singh, S. K., (2009), Reversible antifertility effect of aqueous rhizome extract of Curcuma longa L. in male laboratory mice, Contraception, 79, 479-487.

Mukherje, P. K. et al., (2011), Bioactive compounds from natural resources against skin aging, Phytomedicine, 19, 64-73.

Paramasivam, M. et al., (2009), High-performance thin layer chromato- graphic method for quantitative determination of curcuminoids in Curcuma longa germplasm, Food Chemistry, 113, 640-644.

Rarnsewak, R. S. et al., (2000), Cytotoxicity, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of Curcumins I-III from Curcuma longa, Phytomedicine, 7(4), 303-308.

Rasyid and Lelo, (1999), The effect of curcumin and placebo on human gall-bladder function: an ultrasound study, Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 13(2), 245-249.

Sompamit, K. et al., (2009), Curcumin improves vascular function and alleviates oxidative stress in non-lethal lipopolysaccharide-induced endotoxaemia in mice, European Journal of Pharmacology, 616,192- 199.

Srivastava, K. C. et al., (1995), Curcumin, a Major Component of Food Spice Turmeric (Curcuma longa) Inhibits Aggregation and Alters Eicosanoid Metabolism in Human Blood Platelets, Prostaglandins Leukolrienes and Essential Fatty Acids, Food and Chemical Toxicology, 52, 223-227.

Sumiyoshi, M. and Kimura, Y., (2009), Effects of a turmeric extract (Curcuma longa) on chronic ultraviolet B irradiation-induced skin damage in melanin-possessing hairless mice, Phytomedicine, 16(12), 1137-1143.

Xia, X. et al., (2007), Behavioral, neurochemical and neuroendocrine effects of the ethanolic extract from Curcuma longa L. in the mouse forced swimming test, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 110, 356-363.

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