Turmeric, also known as turmeric, is a perennial herb belonging to the genus Turmeric of the ginger family. It is a traditional Chinese medicine. The medicinal part is its dry rhizome, which is warm in nature and bitter in taste. Curcumin is the most important chemical component of turmeric to exert its pharmacological effects. It has pharmacological effects such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenesis and anti-tumor, and has no obvious adverse reactions.
The curcumin extracted from turmeric mainly has three monomers, namely curcumin, demethoxycurcumin and double demethoxycurcumin, among which curcumin has the highest content, accounting for 70% of the total compounds of turmeric. Curcumin is a mixture of a group of ketone pigments, almost insoluble in water and ether, slightly soluble in benzene, and easily soluble in methanol, ethanol, acetone, ethyl acetate, glacial acetic acid and alkali solutions.
Curcumin has strong medicinal properties. A large number of experiments have proved that curcumin has a good anti-tumor effect, mainly in that it can effectively inhibit the growth and spread of tumors by reducing the number of tumors and reducing the volume of tumors; It protects hemoglobin from oxidation, and can significantly inhibit the production of superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide, and nitrite groups by activating macrophages. Curcumin can also reduce the production of reactive oxygen species in the human body. In addition, curcumin also has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and liver protection effects, and can prevent joint swelling, arthritis, and has a significant effect on cardiovascular disease.
In addition to being widely used in the medical industry, curcumin also has a very good development prospect in the food industry. Curcumin is a natural food pigment with strong dispersibility, good dyeing power, strong anti-corrosion ability, and no side effects. It is often used as a natural food additive and has many advantages in the application process.
At present, curcumin has developed a variety of carriers and different prodrugs such as nanoparticles, solid dispersions, cyclodextrin inclusion complexes, targeted liposomes, microspheres, microcapsules, self-microemulsions, and nanomicelles. Better development and application prospects.
