Abstract
Background: Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) that is used as a food material has antioxidant, anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties. Recently the demand for functional foods and drugs has increased. The present study was carried out to determined of contents of residual sulfur dioxide, heavy metals, ash, acid insoluble ash and curcuminoids in turmeric from the Seoul Yak-ryeong market. Methods and Results: A total of 31 samples were obtained. Residual sulfur dioxide was not detected in any samples. Heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury) were analyzed by ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer) and a mercury analyzer and were detected in the ranges of 0.00 - 0.28, 0.00 - 0.07, 0.00 - 0.29 and 0.002 - 0.027mg/g respectively. No significant difference were observed between the average heavy metal contents of domestic and imported tumeric. However, average content of ash in domestic samples (7.8%) were significantly higher than that in imported samples (6.1%), whereas that of curcuminoids was significantly higher in imported samples (47.6mg/g) than in domestic samples (11.2mg/g). The average content of acid insoluble ash was not significantly different between two sample types (0.9% in each). Conclusions: There are no specific standards for turmeric used as food materials. Therefore, this study can be provided as basic data for the establishment of quality standards for turmeric.
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