Turmeric

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Turmeric

Turmeric (Curcuma
Curcuma

Curcuma is a genus of about 80 accepted species in the plant family Zingiberaceae that contains such species as turmeric and Siam Tulip. The name comes from Arabic kurkummeaning "turmeric", but saffron is not in the same order....
longa) is a rhizomatous herbaceous

Herbaceous

A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaf and stem that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. A herbaceous plant may be Annual plant, Biennial plant or Perennial plant....
perennial plant

Perennial plant

A perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, this term applies specifically to perennial herbaceous plants....
of the ginger

Ginger

Ginger is a spice which is used for cooking and is also consumed whole as a delicacy or medicine. It is the rhizome of the Zingiber, Zingiber officinale....
family, Zingiberaceae

Zingiberaceae

Zingiberaceae, or the Ginger family, is a family of flowering plants consisting of aromatic perennial plant herbs with creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes, comprising ca....
. It is native to tropical South Asia

South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries on the west and the east....
and needs temperatures between 20° C and 30° C, and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive. Plants are gathered annually for their rhizome

Rhizome

In botany, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal plant stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes....
s, and re-seeded from some of those rhizomes in the following season.

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

Spice

A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, leaf, or vegetable used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for the purpose of flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth....
in curries and other South Asian

South Asian cuisine

South Asian cuisine, also known as Desi cuisine, includes the cuisines from the Indian subcontinent.The cuisine of Southwest Asia has roots in several regions and cultures, including Persia, Turkey, and the Middle East as well practices taken from the Hindu beliefs practiced by the large population found in the region....
and Middle Eastern cuisine

Middle Eastern cuisine

Middle Eastern cuisine is the cuisine of the various countries and peoples of the Middle East. The cuisine of the region is diverse while having a degree of homogeneity....
, for dyeing, and to impart color to mustard condiments.

Nutrition Facts

???? Nutrition Facts
Calories in ????
Carbs in ????
Fat in ????

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Encyclopedia

Herbaceous

Perennial plant

Ginger

Ginger is a spice which is used for cooking and is also consumed whole as a delicacy or medicine. It is the rhizome of the Zingiber, Zingiber officinale....
family, Zingiberaceae

Zingiberaceae

South Asia

Rhizome

Spice

South Asian cuisine

Middle Eastern cuisine

Curcumin

Curcumin is the principal curcuminoid of the popular Indian curry spice turmeric, which is a member of the ginger family . The other two curcuminoids are desmethoxycurcumin and bis-desmethoxycurcumin....
and it has an earthy, bitter, pepper

Black pepper

Black pepper is a flowering plant vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning....
y flavor and a mustardy smell.

Turmeric is often misspelled (or pronounced) as tumeric. In medieval Europe, turmeric became known as Indian Saffron, since it is widely used as an alternative to the far more expensive saffron

Saffron

Sangli

The twin cities of Sangli and Miraj are located in the Indian States and territories of India of Maharashtra, nearly 400 kilometers southeast of Mumbai....
, a town in the southern part of the India

India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
n state of Maharashtra

Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a States and territories of India located on the western coast of India. Maharashtra is a part of Western India. It is India's List of states of India by area and List of states of India by population....
, is the largest and most important trading centre for turmeric in Asia

Asia

Usage

Culinary uses

In non-South Asian recipes, turmeric is sometimes used as an agent to impart a rich, custard-like yellow color. It has found application in canned beverages, baked products, dairy

Dairy

A dairy is a facility for the extraction and processing of animal milk—mostly from goat or cattle, but also from bovine, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption....
products, ice cream

Ice cream

Ice cream or ice-cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, combined with fruits or other ingredients....
, yogurt, yellow cake

Cake

Cake is a form of food that is usually sweet and often Baking. Cakes normally combine some kind of flour, a sweetener , a binding agent , fats , a liquid , flavoring and some form of leavening agent , though many cakes lack these ingredients and instead rely on air bubbles in the dough to expand and cause the cake to rise....
s, orange juice, biscuit

Biscuit

File:Runny hunny.jpgA biscuit is a small Baking product; the exact meaning varies markedly in different parts of the world. The etymology of the word "biscuit" is from Latin language via Middle French and means "cooked twice", hence biscotti in Medieval Italian ....
s, popcorn

Popcorn

Popcorn or popping corn is a type of maize, which explodes from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn popping was originally discovered by Native Americans in the United States, but became popular as a snack food during the United States Great Depression....
color, sweets, cake icings, cereal

Cereal

Cereals, or cereal grains, are mostly Poaceae cultivated for their edible brans or fruit seeds . Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple foods....
s, sauces, gelatin

Gelatin

Gelatin is a translucent, colorless, brittle, nearly tasteless solid, derived from the collagen inside animals' skin and mostly bones. It has been commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceutical, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing....
s, etc. It is a significant ingredient in most commercial curry powder

Curry powder

Curry powder is a mixture of spices of widely varying composition, that is a classic of Indian cuisine. In the Western world Curry Powder mixtures tend to have fairly standardized taste, whereas in its original India there are many different curry flavors available to be experienced for the true gourmet....
s.

Although usually used in its dried, powdered form, Turmeric is also used fresh - much like ginger. It has numerous uses in far east recipes, such as fresh turmeric pickle (which contains large chunks of soft turmeric).

Turmeric (coded as E100

E number

E numbers are number codes for food additives and are usually found on food labels throughout the European Union. The numbering scheme follows that of the International Numbering System as determined by the Codex Alimentarius committee....
when used as a food additive

Food additive

Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavour or improve its taste and appearance.Some additives have been used for centuries; for example, preserving food by pickling , edible salting, as with bacon, preserving sweets or using sulfur dioxide as in some wines....
) is used to protect food products from sunlight. The oleoresin is used for oil-containing products. The curcumin/polysorbate

Polysorbate

Polysorbates are a class of emulsifiers used in some pharmaceuticals and food preparation. They are often used in cosmetics to solubilize essential oils into water-based products....
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

Annatto

Annatto, sometimes called Roucou, is a derivative of the achiote trees of tropical regions of the Americas, used to produce a red food coloring and also as a flavoring....
(E160b), turmeric has been used to color cheese

Cheese

Cheese is a food consisting of proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cattle, Water Buffalo, goats, or sheep's milk. It is produced by Coagulation of the milk protein casein....
s, yogurt, dry mixes, salad dressings, winter butter

Butter

Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermentation cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications such as baking, sauce making, and frying....
and margarine

Margarine

Margarine , as a generic term, can indicate any of a wide range of butter substitutes. In many parts of the world, margarine has become the best-selling table spread, although butter and olive oil also command large market shares....
. Turmeric is also used to give a yellow color to some prepared mustards, canned chicken broth

Broth

Broth is a liquid in which bones, meat, fish, cereal grains, or vegetables have been simmering. Broth is used as a basis for other edible liquids such as soup, gravy, or sauce....
s and other foods (often as a much cheaper replacement for saffron

Saffron

Saffron is a spice derived from the dried gynoecium of the flower of the saffron crocus , a species of crocus in the family Iridaceae. The flower has three Carpels, which are the anatomical terms of location ends of the plant's carpels....
).

Turmeric is widely used as a spice in South Asian and Middle Eastern cooking. Momos (Nepali meat dumplings), a traditional dish in South Asia, are spiced with turmeric.

Medicinal uses

In Ayurvedic practices, turmeric is thought to have many medicinal properties

Medicinal properties

Antiseptic

Antiseptics are antimicrobials that are applied to living biological tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putrefaction....
for cuts, burns and bruise

Bruise

A bruise, also called a contusion, is an injury to biological tissue in which the capillary are damaged, allowing blood to seep into the surrounding tissue....
s. Practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine say it has fluoride

Fluoride

Fluoride is the Redox form of fluorine. Both organic compounds and inorganic compounds containing the chemical element fluorine are considered fluorides....
which is thought to be essential for teeth. It is also used as an antibacterial agent.

It is taken in some Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
n countries as a dietary supplement, which allegedly helps with stomach problems and other ailments. It is popular as a tea in Okinawa, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
. Pakistanis also use it as an anti-inflammatory agent, and remedy for gastrointestinal discomfort associated with irritable bowel syndrome, and other digestive disorders. In Afghanistan and North West Pakistan, turmeric is applied to a piece of burnt cloth, and placed over a wound to cleanse and stimulate recovery. Indians, in addition to its Ayurvedic properties, use turmeric in a wide variety of skin creams that are also exported to neighboring countries. It is currently being investigated for possible benefits in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease , also called Alzheimer disease, Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer Type or simply Alzheimer's, is the most common form of dementia....
, cancer

Cancer

Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cell display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis . These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, do not invade or metastasize....
and liver disorders

Liver

The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals; it has a wide range of functions, a few of which are detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion....
.

It is only in recent years that Western scientists have increasingly recognised the medicinal properties

Medicinal properties

Many plants have traditional medical uses. Ethnobotany and Pharmacognacy catalog and study these plants and uses. This is a list of some of the more common medicinal properties that are ascribed to plants....
of turmeric. In the latter half of the 20th century, curcumin was identified as responsible for most of the biological effects of turmeric. According to a 2005 article in the Wall Street Journal, research activity into curcumin is exploding. In that year supplement sales increased 35% from 2004, and the U.S. National Institutes of Health

National Institutes of Health

The National Institutes of Health is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research....
had four clinical trials underway to study curcumin treatment for pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a cancer of the pancreas. Each year in the United States, about 37,680 individuals are diagnosed with this condition and 34,290 die from the disease each year....
, multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells. These immune system cells are formed in bone marrow, are numerous in lymphatics and produce antibody....
, Alzheimer's, and colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer, also called colon cancer or large bowel cancer, includes cancerous growths in the colon , rectum and Vermiform appendix....
.

Cosmetics

Turmeric is currently used in the formulation of some sunscreen

Sunscreen

Sunscreen is a lotion, spray, gel or other topical product that absorbs or reflects the sun's ultraviolet radiation and protects the skin.Sunscreens contain one or more UV filters of which there are three main types :...
s. Turmeric paste is used by some Indian women to keep them free of superfluous hair. Turmeric paste is applied to bride and groom before marriage in some places of India

India

Bangladesh

, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south....
, and Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia and borders Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046 kilometre coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and People's Republic of China in th...
, where it is believed turmeric gives glow to skin and keeps some harmful bacteria away from the body.

The government of Thailand is funding a project to extract and isolate tetrahydrocurcuminoids (THC) from turmeric. THCs (not to be confused with tetrahydrocannabinol

Tetrahydrocannabinol

Tetrahydrocannabinol , also known as THC, ?9-THC, ?9-tetrahydrocannabinol, ?1-tetrahydrocannabinol , or dronabinol, is the main psychoactive substance found in the Cannabis plant....
, which is also known as THC) are colorless compounds that might have antioxidant

Antioxidant

An antioxidant is a molecule capable of slowing or preventing the Redox of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that transfers electrons from a substance to an oxidizing agent....
and skin-lightening properties and might be used to treat skin inflammations, making these compounds useful in cosmetics formulations.

Dye

Turmeric makes a poor fabric dye

Dye

A dye can generally be described as a colored substance that has an Chemical affinity to the Wiktionary:substrate to which it is being applied....
as it is not very lightfast (the degree to which a dye resists fading due to light exposure). However, turmeric is commonly used in Indian clothing, such as sari

Sari

A sari or saree or shari is a female garment in the Indian subcontinent. A sari is a strip of unstitched cloth, ranging from four to nine metres in length that is draped over the body in various styles....
s.

Gardening

Turmeric can also be used to deter ants. The exact reasons why turmeric repels ants is unknown, but anecdotal evidence suggests it works.

Ceremonial uses

Turmeric is also used in various rituals, such as the turmeric ceremony or gaye holud

Gaye Holud

Gaye holud or turmeric ceremony is a ceremony observed mostly in the region of Bengal . It is part of an elaborate series of celebrations constituting the Bengali wedding....
, part of the Bengali wedding

Bengali wedding

A traditional Bengali people wedding includes many rituals and ceremonies that can span several days. Although Islam and Hinduism marriages have their distinctive religious rituals, there are many common Bengali cultural rituals in weddings across both Bangladesh and India West Bengal....
.It is widely used in all parts of India during wedding ceremony particularly, North India and Deccan Plateau.

Also, it is used in Pujas as a form of the elephant God Ganesha. It is made by mixing turmeric with water and forming it into a cone like shape.

Automotive uses

Turmeric is one of the main ingredients in leading radiator stop-leak sealant mixtures.

Chemistry

Turmeric contains up to 5% essential oil

Essential oil

An essential oil is a concentrated, hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. They are also known as volatile or ethereal oils, or simply as the "oil of" the plant material from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove....
s and up to 3% curcumin

Curcumin

Polyphenol

Polyphenols are a group of chemical substances found in plants, characterized by the presence of more than one phenol unit or building block per molecule....
. It is the active substance of turmeric and it is also 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.

External links

, from the U.S. National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health

The National Institutes of Health is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research....