Turmeric

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Indian Turmeric
Curcuma longa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
(unranked): Commelinids
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Zingiberaceae
Genus: Curcuma
Species: C. longa
Binomial name
Curcuma longa
Linnaeus[1]

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) English pronunciation: /ˈtɝːmərɪk/ is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae.[2] It is native to tropical South Asia and needs temperatures between 20°C and 30°C (68°F and 86°F) and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive.[3] Plants are gathered annually for their rhizomes, and propagated from some of those rhizomes in the following season.

When not used fresh, the rhizomes are boiled for several hours and then dried in hot ovens, after which they are ground into a deep orange-yellow powder commonly used as a spice in curries and other South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine, for dyeing, and to impart color to mustard condiments. Its active ingredient is curcumin and it has a distinctly earthy, slightly bitter, slightly hot peppery flavor and a mustardy smell.

Contents

Production and etymology [edit]

Turmeric field in an Indian village.

India and Pakistan are significant producers of turmeric[4] which has regional names based on language and country. The name appears to derive from the Latin, terra merita (merited earth) or turmeryte, possibly related to saffron.[5] As turmeric is a natural botanical compound, it is not patentable.[6][7]

History [edit]

Turmeric has been used in India for thousands of years and is a major part of Ayurvedic medicine.[8] It was first used as a dye and then later for its possible medicinal properties.[9]

A medicine called Curcumall, an extract of Tumeric and Curcumin, was developed by an Israeli Biochemist Dr. Menahem Rabinovich.

Uses [edit]

Culinary uses [edit]

Turmeric powder is used extensively in South Asian cuisine.

Turmeric grows wild in the forests of South and Southeast Asia. It is one of the key ingredients in many Asian dishes. Indian traditional medicine, called Ayurveda, has recommended turmeric in food for its potential medicinal value, which is a topic of active research. Its use as a coloring agent is not of primary value in South Asian cuisine.

In Vietnam, turmeric powder is used to color, and enhance the flavors of, certain dishes, such as bánh xèo, bánh khọt and mì quảng. The powder is also used in many other Vietnamese stir fried and soup dishes.

In Indonesia, the turmeric leaves are used for Minangese or Padangese curry base of Sumatra, such as rendang, sate padang and many other varieties.

Although most turmeric that is used is in the form of rhizome powder, in some regions (especially in Maharashtra, Goa, Konkan and Kanara), turmeric leaves are used to wrap and cook food. This use of turmeric leaves usually takes place in areas where turmeric is grown locally, since the leaves used are freshly picked. Turmeric leaves impart a distinctive flavor.

In recipes outside South Asia, turmeric is sometimes used as an agent to impart a rich, custard-like yellow color. It is used in canned beverages and baked products, dairy products, ice cream, yogurt, yellow cakes, orange juice, biscuits, popcorn color, sweets, cake icings, cereals, sauces, gelatins, etc. It is a significant ingredient in most commercial curry powders. Turmeric is mostly used in savory dishes, but is used in some sweet dishes, such as the cake Sfouf. In India, turmeric plant leaf is used to prepare special sweet dishes, patoleo, by layering rice flour and coconut-jaggery mixture on the leaf, and then closing and steaming it in a special copper steamer (goa).

Although typically used in its dried, powdered form, turmeric is also used fresh, like ginger. It has numerous uses in Far Eastern recipes, such as pickle made from fresh turmeric that contains large chunks of soft turmeric.

Turmeric is widely used as a spice in South Asian and Middle Eastern cooking. Many Persian dishes use turmeric as a starter ingredient. Almost all Iranian fried dishes consist of oil, onions, and turmeric followed by any other ingredients that are to be included. In Nepal, turmeric is widely grown and extensively used in many vegetable and meat dishes for its color as well as for its potential value in traditional medicine. In South Africa, turmeric is used to give boiled white rice a golden color.

In medieval Europe, turmeric became known as Indian saffron because it was widely used as an alternative to the far more expensive saffron spice.[10]

Preliminary medical research [edit]

See also: Curcumin

Phytochemicals found in turmeric have been investigated in preliminary research for their potential effects on diseases,[9] such as cancer,[11][12][13] Alzheimer's disease,[14] arthritis, diabetes[15] and other clinical disorders.[16][17] As an example of such basic research, turmeric reduced the severity of pancreatitis-associated lung injury in mice.[18]

According to one report, research activity into curcumin and turmeric is increasing.[19] The U.S. National Institutes of Health currently has registered 71 clinical trials completed or underway to study use of dietary curcumin for a variety of clinical disorders (dated September 2012).[20]

Turmeric rhizome

Some research shows compounds in turmeric to have anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties; however, curcumin is not one of them.[21]

In another preliminary research example, curcumin is being studied for whether it alters the response to chemotherapy in patients with advanced bowel cancer,[22] as found in a laboratory study.[23]

Dye [edit]

Turmeric makes a poor fabric dye, as it is not very light fast. However, turmeric is commonly used in Indian and Bangladeshi clothing, such as saris and Buddhist monks' robes.[24] Turmeric (coded as E100 when used as a food additive)[25] is used to protect food products from sunlight. The oleoresin is used for oil-containing products. The curcumin/polysorbate solution or curcumin powder dissolved in alcohol is used for water-containing products. Over-coloring, such as in pickles, relishes, and mustard, is sometimes used to compensate for fading.

In combination with annatto (E160b), turmeric has been used to color cheeses, yogurt, dry mixes, salad dressings, winter butter and margarine. Turmeric is also used to give a yellow color to some prepared mustards, canned chicken broths and other foods (often as a much cheaper replacement for saffron).

Ceremonial uses [edit]

Turmeric is considered highly auspicious in India and has been used extensively in various Indian ceremonies for millennia. Even today it is used in every part of India during wedding ceremonies and religious ceremonies.

It is used in Pujas to make a form of Lord Ganesha. Ganesha, the remover of obstacles, is invoked at the beginning of almost any ceremony and a form of Ganesha for this purpose is made by mixing turmeric with water and forming it into a cone-like shape.

Gaye holud (literally "yellow on the body") is a ceremony observed mostly in the region of Bengal (comprising Bangladesh and Indian West Bengal). The gaye holud takes place one or two days prior to the religious and legal Bengali wedding ceremonies. The turmeric paste is applied by friends to the bodies of the couple. This is said to soften the skin, but also colors them with the distinctive yellow hue that gives its name to this ceremony. It may be a joint event for the bride and groom's families, or it may consist of separate events for the bride's family and the groom's family.

During the south Indian festival Pongal, a whole turmeric plant with fresh rhizomes is offered as a thanksgiving offering to Surya, the Sun god. Also, the fresh plant sometimes is tied around the sacred Pongal pot in which an offering of pongal is prepared.

Turmeric Flower Maharashtra India

In southern India, as a part of the marriage ritual, dried turmeric tuber tied with string is used to replace the Mangalsutra temporarily or permanently. The Hindu Marriage act recognizes this custom. Thali necklace is the equivalent of marriage rings of west. In western and coastal India, during weddings of the Marathi and Konkani people turmeric tubers are tied with strings by the couple to their wrists during a ceremony called Kankanabandhana.[26]

Modern Neopagans list it with the quality of fire, and it is used for power and purification rites.[citation needed]

Friedrich Ratzel in The History of Mankind reported in 1896 that in Micronesia the preparation of turmeric powder for embellishment of body, clothing and utensils had a highly ceremonial character.[27] He quotes an example of the roots being ground by four to six women in special public buildings and then allowed to stand in water. The following morning, three young coconuts and three old soma nuts are offered by a priestess with prayer, after which the dye which has settled down in the water is collected, baked into cakes in coconut molds, wrapped in banana leaves, and hung up in the huts till required for use.

Composition [edit]

Curcumin keto form
Curcumin enol form

Turmeric contains up to 5% essential oils and up to 5%[dubious – discuss] curcumin, a polyphenol. Curcumin is the active substance of turmeric and curcumin is known as C.I. 75300, or Natural Yellow 3. The 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. Curcumin is a pH indicator. In acidic solutions (pH <7.4) it turns yellow, whereas in basic (pH > 8.6) solutions it turns bright red.

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Curcuma longa information from NPGS/GRIN". ars-grin.gov. Retrieved 2008-03-04. 
  2. ^ Chan, E.W.C. et al.; Lim, Y.Y.; Wong, S.K.; Lim, K.K.; Tan, S.P.; Lianto, F.S.; Yong, M.Y. (2009). "Effects of different drying methods on the antioxidant properties of leaves and tea of ginger species". Food Chemistry 113 (1): 166–172. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2008.07.090. 
  3. ^ Materia Indica, 1826, Whitelaw Ainslie, M.D. M.R.A.S., via Google Books
  4. ^ Tahira JJ et al (2010). "Weed flora of Curcuma longa". Pakistan J Weed Sci Res 16 (2): 241–6. Retrieved 11 October 2012. 
  5. ^ "Turmeric". Dictionary.com. 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012. 
  6. ^ "Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) and Farmers' Rights". Retrieved 2011-09-28. 
  7. ^ Royal Botanical Gardens, UK. "Turmeric – History". Plant Cultures. Royal Botanical Gardens. Retrieved 11 October 2012. 
  8. ^ Chattopadhyay, Ishita; Kaushik Biswas, Uday Bandyopadhyay, and Ranajit K. Banerjee (10). "Turmeric and curcumin: Biological actions and medicinal applications". Current Science (Indian Academy of Sciences) 87 (1): 44–53. ISSN 0011-3891. Retrieved 16 March 2013. 
  9. ^ a b "Herbs at a Glance: Turmeric, Science & Safety". National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), National Institutes of Health. 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012. 
  10. ^ Is it Turmeric or Saffron?
  11. ^ Mahady, GB; Pendland, SL; Yun, G; Lu, ZZ (2002). "Turmeric (Curcuma longa) and curcumin inhibit the growth of Helicobacter pylori, a group 1 carcinogen". Anticancer Res. 22 (6C): 4179–4181. PMID 12553052. 
  12. ^ Lin JK, Chen YC, et al. "Suppression of protein kinase C and nuclear oncogene expression as possible molecular mechanism of cancer chemoprevention by apigenin and curcumin", J Cell Biochem (Suppl) 28–29; 39–48, 1997
  13. ^ Lin LI, Ke YF, et al. "Curcumin inhibits SK-Hep-1 hepatocellular carcinoma cell invasion in vitro and suppresses matrix metalloproteinase-9 secretion", Oncology 55: 349–353, 1998
  14. ^ Mishra S, Palanivelu K (Jan–March, 2008). "The effect of curcumin (turmeric) on Alzheimer's disease: An overview". Ann Indian Acad Neurol 11 (1): 13–9. doi:10.4103/0972-2327.40220. PMC 2781139. PMID 19966973. 
  15. ^ Boaz M, Leibovitz E, Bar Dayan Y, Wainstein J (2011). "Functional foods in the treatment of type 2 diabetes: olive leaf extract, turmeric and fenugreek, a qualitative review". Func Foods Health Dis 1 (11): 472–81. 
  16. ^ Henrotin Y, Clutterbuck AL, Allaway D, et al. (February 2010). "Biological actions of curcumin on articular chondrocytes". Osteoarthr. Cartil. 18 (2): 141–9. doi:10.1016/j.joca.2009.10.002. PMID 19836480. 
  17. ^ Gregory PJ, Sperry M, Wilson AF (January 2008). "Dietary supplements for osteoarthritis". Am Fam Physician 77 (2): 177–84. PMID 18246887. 
  18. ^ Seo SW et al. (Jan 2011). "Protective effects of Curcuma longa against cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis and pancreatitis-associated lung injury". Int J Mol Med 27 (1): 53–61. doi:10.3892/ijmm.2010.548. PMID 21069254. 
  19. ^ Lewis, Christina. Common Indian Spice Stirs Hope. 
  20. ^ NIH-listed human clinical trials on curcumin, September, 2012
  21. ^ Ragasa C, Laguardia M, Rideout J (2005). "Antimicrobial sesquiterpenoids and diarylheptanoid from Curcuma domestica". ACGC Chem Res Comm 18 (1): 21–24. 
  22. ^ "Curry chemical's ability to fight cancer put to the test". BBC News. 2012-05-06. Retrieved 2012-05-09. 
  23. ^ "Curry compound could fight cancer; Curcumin may kill bowel cancer cells". NY Daily News. 2012-05-08. Retrieved 2012-05-09. 
  24. ^ Brennan, James (15 Oct 2008). "Turmeric". Lifestyle. The National. Retrieved 13 May 2012. 
  25. ^ UK food guide
  26. ^ Singh KS, Bhanu BV (2004). People of India: Maharashtra, Volume 1. Popular Prakashan. pp. 2130 pages(see page:487). ISBN 9788179911006. 
  27. ^ Ratzel, Friedrich. The History of Mankind. (London: MacMillan, 1896). URL: www.inquirewithin.biz/history/american_pacific/oceania/oceania-utensils.htm accessed 28 November 2009.

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Curcuma longa
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Look up turmeric in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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