CHAPTER 31: Turmeric (Curcuma longa, Curcuma domestica)

Turmeric spice is the dry yellow powdered rhizome of Curcuma longa, and is most widely used to flavour and colour foods, in cosmetics and as a fabric dye. It is associated with important life rituals; birth, marriage, fertility, death and after death in spiritual practices. It is an economically important spice in India. There is an extensive body of work from Africa, Asia, Europe and North America on the bioactive properties of turmeric and their clinical significance. The properties exhibited in vitro and/or in vivo are antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, glucose lowering, anti-diabetic, lipid lowering, cardioprotective, chemopreventive/anti-cancer, neurological/neuro-protective, anti-aging and wound healing properties. It may also be of use in the treatment of renal and skin disorders. Other bioactive properties include its anti-microbial effects. With an extensive body of evidence relating to its bioactive properties in vitro and in animal studies, their potential protective and therapeutic significance in the development and treatment of a range of diseases in humans have also been, and are being, investigated, with promising results, and it is this particular body of work that is the focus of the bioactivity section of this chapter.