Synthesis of Turmeric (polyphenol curcumin)

Turmeric (Curcuma longa, also called tumeric or kunyit in some Asian countries[1]) is a spice commonly used in curries and other South Asian cuisine.
The active substance of turmeric is the polyphenol curcumin, also known as C.I. 75300, or Natural Yellow 3. Systematic chemical name is (1E,6E)-1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1,6-heptadiene-3,5-dione. It can exist at least in two tautomeric forms, keto and enol. The keto form is preferred in solid phase and the enol form in solution.



................source,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumeric


.........it would be interesting to find the synthesis ..............solo


Article of interest

The Encapsulation of Curcumin in Micelles
Hsu-Chih Chena, Hung-Yin Linb, Chuan-Chuan Linc, and Mei-Hwa Leea,
Bioengineering Conference, 2005. Proceedings of the IEEE 31st Annual Northeast



Introduction
Curcumin (diferuloylmethane), the yellow pigment in
turmeric and curry, is used extensively in food and chemical
industry, such as coloring, flavoring and preservative agents in
foods. It has been found to exhibit anti-oxidative [1] and
anti-inflammatory properties. During the past decades, many
research reports indicated that curcumin can induct apoptosis
and suppress the formation of procarcinogens by various kinds
of mechanism [2]. Curcumin not only possesses
chemopreventive property but also anti-cancer effect.
Nowadays, curcumin has been made as health food and
considered by National Cancer Institute as the third generation
of cancer chemopreventive agent in America and the phase II
clinical trials have been carried out in Germany.
Curcumin with polyphenol structure is water insoluble and
scarcely dissolved in organic phase. Previous studies
addressing the absorption and metabolism of curcumin after
oral administration (50–750?g) showed its poor bioavailability
in vivo[3]. Curcumin is unstable at neutral-basic pH values and
serum-free medium, and is degraded to vanillin, ferulic acid,
feruloyl methane and trans-6-(4’-hydroxy-3’-methoxyphenyl)-
2,4-dioxo-5-hexenal2.

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I remember there's a synth, but methinks looking for the nearest Asian supermarket for turmeric is the cheaper option. Crush the tuber and extract with ethanol. That's what we do to prepare it as an indicator.

sparky (~_~)

Quote:

Originally posted by sparkgap I remember there's a synth, but methinks looking for the nearest Asian supermarket for turmeric is the cheaper option. Crush the tuber and extract with ethanol. That's what we do to prepare it as an indicator. sparky (~_~)