Levels of curcuminoid and essential oil compositions in turmerics (Curcuma longa L.) grown in Korea

Kyu-Won Hwang,Daniel Son,Hyeong-Wook Jo,Ki Cheol Seong,Chun Hwan Kim,Joon-Kwan Moon

doi:10.1007/s13765-016-0156-9

Abstract

Levels of curcuminoids and essential oil compositions from eighteen turmerics (Curcuma longa L.) grown in Jeju were analyzed. 0.5 g of turmeric samples was extracted with 20 mL of methanol for 7 h by shaking and was ultra-sonicated for 30 min. The extracts were analyzed by high-pressure liquid chromatography-diode array detector using Brownlee SPP C18 column (4.6 × 100 mm, 2.7 µm) after filtration. Curcumin (CUR), demethoxycurcumin (DEM), and bisdemethoxycurcumin (BIS) were monitored at the wavelength of 420 nm. Total curcuminoids in turmerics ranged from 53.9 ± 1.0 to 5396.0 ± 101.8 µg/g dry turmeric weight. In decreasing order, curcuminoids found were CUR (4669.7 µg/g) > DEM (565.3 µg/g) > BIS (160.9 µg/g). K145023 variety contains the highest amount of curcuminoids and variety number 10 contains the least amount. Essential oils were extracted with steam distillation method and analyzed with GC–MS. The major components of turmeric oil were α-zingiberene (27.70–36.75 %), aromatic-turmerone (19.54–32.24 %), β-sesquiphellandrene (13.14–18.23 %), α-turmerone (3.72–6.50 %), β-turmerone (2.86–5.60 %), and β-bisabolene (2.50–3.46 %).

Highlights

Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) is a tropical herb of the Zingiberaceae family indigenous to southern Asia
The distinct yellow color of turmeric comes from the pigment curcurmin (CUR), 1,7-bis-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1,6-heptadiene-3,5-dione, and two curcuminoids, demethoxycurcumin (DEM) and bisdemethoxycurcumin (BIS) (Fig. 1)
Eighteen varieties of turmeric were provided from the National Agrodiversity Center and were grown in Jeju Island from mid February to end of December in 2013 and rhizomes were separated after harvest

Summary

Introduction

Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) is a tropical herb of the Zingiberaceae family indigenous to southern Asia. The essential oil of turmeric contains aromatic-turmerone(ar-turmerone), b-turmerone, a-turmerone, a-zingiberene, b-sesquiphellandrene, and b-bisabolene (Sharma et al 1997; Neela et al 2002; Manzan et al 2003; Jayaprakasha et al 2005; Singh et al 2010). The level of curcuminoids and the compositions of essential oil are the important criteria of the quality and utility of a variety with respect to its use as a source of the health-promoting agent.

Results

Conclusion