definition:

A chemical component extracted from the rhizomes of some plants in the Zingiberaceae and Araceae family. Among them, turmeric contains about 3% to 6%. It is a rare pigment with diketones in the plant kingdom and is a diketone compound. Curcumin is an orange-yellow crystalline powder with a slightly bitter taste and insoluble in water. It is mainly used for the coloring of sausage products, canned food, and soy sauce products in food production. Medical research shows that curcumin has the effects of lowering blood lipids, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, choleretic, and anti-oxidant. Scientists discover that curcumin can help treat drug-resistant tuberculosis

Physical and chemical properties:

The main sources of curcumin are the roots of ginger (Curcuma aromatica Salisb.), turmeric (C.longa L.) rhizomes, turmeric (C.zedoaria (Berg.) Rosc.) rhizomes, and Acorus calamus (Acorus calamus). L.) Rhizome, etc. [3]

Curcumin is orange-yellow crystalline powder with a bit bitter taste. It is insoluble in water and ether. It is soluble in ethanol and propylene glycol. It is easily soluble in glacial acetic acid and alkaline solutions. It is reddish brown when alkaline, and yellow when it is neutral and acidic. Determined according to OT-42 method. The melting range is 179～182℃.

Curcumin has strong stability to reducing agents and strong colorability. Once colored, it is not easy to fade, but it is sensitive to light, heat and iron ions, and has poor light resistance, heat resistance and iron ions resistance.

Because curcumin has two hydroxyl groups at both ends of the molecule, the conjugation effect of electron cloud deviation occurs under alkaline conditions, so when the pH is greater than 8, curcumin will turn from yellow to red. Modern chemistry uses this property as an acid-base indicator.

Application field: food additives

Curcumin has been widely used in the food industry as a common natural pigment for a long time. It is mainly used for the dyeing of canned food, sausage products, and soy sauce products, and its usage is determined by normal production needs. The product form of the functional food with curcumin as the main component can be general food or some non-food forms, such as capsules, pills or tablets. For general food forms, some yellow pigmented foods can be considered, such as cakes, sweets, drinks, etc.

Curcumin is a food additive approved by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Codex Alimentarius Commission (FAO/WHO-1995). It is one of the nine natural pigments that are allowed to be used in food and was first promulgated in my country's "Sanitary Standards for the Use of Food Additives". The newly promulgated "Standard for the Use of Food Additives" (GB2760-2011) stipulates that frozen beverages, cocoa products, chocolate and chocolate products and candies, gum-based candies, decorative candies, toppings and sweet sauces, batter, breading and frying powder , Instant rice noodle products, flavored syrup, compound seasoning, carbonated drinks and jelly in the maximum use of curcumin are 0.15, 0.01, 0.7, 0.5, 0.3, 0.5, 0.5, 0.1, 0.01, 0.01 g/kg, margarine And similar products, cooked nuts and seeds, fillings of grain products, and puffed food can be used in appropriate amounts according to production needs.

Curcumin also has an antiseptic effect. At present, curcumin is widely used in the food industry as a seasoning and pigment at home and abroad. Turmeric can replace the precious spice saffron in medieval Europe. It is also an indispensable traditional curry food in the lives of Indians, a common kebab in the Middle East, a common condiment for Persian and Thai dishes, and a common coloring in mustard sauce. Curcumin used for food coloring is mainly divided into 4 categories: water-dispersible turmeric oil, water-dispersible purified turmeric, oil-soluble purified curcumin, and purified turmeric powder. my country began to research and apply curcumin in the middle and late 1980s, and reached its peak in the early 1990s. However, due to product quality, the degree of marketization was not high. At present, water-soluble and oil-soluble curcumin products have been developed in China that are comparable to those abroad, and curcumin with a variety of tones is produced through compounding. It has been widely used in pasta, beverages, fruit wine, candy, cakes, cans, juices and Cooking dishes, as a compound seasoning, used in chicken essence compound seasoning, puffed seasoning, instant noodles and noodle puffed products, instant food seasoning, hot pot seasoning sauce, paste flavors and spices, seasoning pickles, beef jerky products, etc. my country is one of the main producing areas of turmeric in the world, with abundant resources. The current annual output has reached tens of thousands of tons, which already has a good market advantage.

Curcumin chemical indicator

Used as an acid-base indicator, pH 7.8 (yellow) -9.2 (red brown).

Curcumin Medicine

Turmeric is a commonly used medicine, and its main biologically active ingredients are curcumin and volatile oil. The former has the effects of lowering blood lipids, anticoagulation, anti-oxidation, choleretics, and anti-cancer; while the latter mainly has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antitussive effects. Curcumins exert their anti-cancer effects by inducing malignant tumor cell differentiation, inducing tumor cell apoptosis and inhibiting tumor growth at various stages, and its clinical application is very extensive.

1. Anti-cancer

Curcumin is a plant polyphenol extracted from turmeric, and it is also the most important active ingredient for turmeric to exert its pharmacological effects. Recent studies have not only proved the traditional effects of turmeric, but also revealed some new pharmacological effects, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, scavenging oxygen free radicals, anti-human immunodeficiency virus, protecting liver and kidney, anti-fibrosis and anti-cancer Anti-cancer effects may be related to its inhibition of the activation and expression of transcription factors such as nuclear factor-κB and activator protein-1, and there are no obvious side effects.

2. Alzheimer's

Animal experiments at Duke University in the United States have shown that curcumin in curry can not only decompose amyloid in the brain of experimental mice, but also prevent the production of this protein. Researchers pointed out that regular consumption of curry may also produce similar effects on people, thereby helping to prevent Alzheimer’s.

Many studies have proven that a large accumulation of amyloid in the brain is one of the main causes of Alzheimer's disease. Previous studies have shown that curcumin, a key ingredient in curry, can prevent brain nerve cell damage and improve brain nerve cell function.

According to U.S. media reports, researchers at Duke University in the U.S. have genetically modified laboratory mice to make many amyloid proteins appear in their brains. The researchers then provided these experimental mice with curcumin-rich food, and found that the amyloid in the brain of the experimental mice was broken down, and the same diet could also prevent the amyloid from appearing in the adult brain of the experimental mice.