Curcumin was first isolated from Curcuma longa L. in 1870 as a polyphenol compound with low relative molecular weight. In 1910, the chemical structure of bifferoylmethane was clarified, and then obvious progress was made in the research on its physiological and pharmacological effects. With the deepening of the research on Curcumin, it has been found that curcumin has a wide range of pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidation, lipid regulation, anti-virus, anti infection, anti-tumor, anticoagulant, anti liver fibrosis, anti atherosclerosis and so on. Curcumin is one of the largest sales of natural edible pigments in the world. It is a food additive approved by the World Health Organization, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and many countries. What attracts researchers is not only curcumin as a non steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, but also curcumin has a wide range of preventive properties against diseases because of its chemopreventive properties. Since modern medical research has found that the occurrence of many human diseases is related to the formation of free radicals and the participation of inflammatory response, the Antioxidant activity and anti-inflammatory effect of curcumin have attracted extensive attention of scholars at home and abroad.
Curcumin is a natural compound with good anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. Curcumin is a diketone compound extracted from the rhizomes of some plants in Zingiberaceae and Araceae. The chemical formula is c21h20o6. Among them, turmeric contains about 3% ~ 6% curcumin, which is a rare pigment with diketone structure in the plant world. Curcumin is an orange yellow crystalline powder with a slightly bitter taste and insoluble in water. It is mainly used for coloring intestinal products, cans, sauce and brine products in food production. Curcumin has the effects of lowering blood lipid, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, gallbladder and anti-oxidation. In addition, some scientists have found that curcumin can help treat drug-resistant tuberculosis.
Food Additives
Curcumin, as a common natural pigment, has been widely used in the food industry for a long time. It is mainly used for the dyeing of cans, intestinal products and sauce brine products. Its use amount depends on the needs of normal production. The product form of 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 food can be considered, such as cakes, sweets, drinks, etc.
Medical Science
Turmeric is a common drug, and its main bioactive components are curcumin and volatile oil. The former has the functions of reducing blood lipid, anticoagulation, antioxidation, cholagogic and anticancer; The latter mainly has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and cough relieving effects. Curcumin plays its anticancer role by inducing malignant tumor cell differentiation, inducing tumor cell apoptosis and inhibiting tumor growth at all stages. It is widely used in clinic.
