Biotechayur, Orissa, India manufacturers curcumin and other phytochemicals, nutrients and proteins

Feb. 17, 2010 - PRLog -- TURMERIC, CURCUMIN or HALDI in AYURVEDIC MEDICINE
Botanical Name: Curcuma Longa

By Dr.Abhay Kumar Pati, President/CEO, Best Nutrition Inc. USA
Chairman, Biotechayur.com   Orissa, India


Turmeric ( Curcuma longa) is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae.  It is native to tropical south Asia and needs temperatures between 20C and 30C, and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive. Plants are gathered annually for their rhizomes, 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 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 an earthy, bitter, peppery flavor and a mustard  like smell.

In medieval Europe, turmeric became known as Indian Saffron, since it is widely used as an alternative to the far more expensive saffron spice.

Sangli, a town in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra, is the largest and most important trading centre for turmeric in Asia or perhaps in the entire world.

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 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 used in savory dishes, not sweet ones.

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  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, relished and mustard, is sometimes used to compensate for fading.

Turmeric powder is  being 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, and canned chicken broths and other foods (often as a much cheaper replacement for saffron).

Turmeric is widely used as a spice in South Asian and Middle Eastern cooking as well as in Nepalese dishes like  meat dumplings, a traditional dish in South Asia, are spiced with turmeric.  In South Africa turmeric is traditionally used to give boiled white rice a golden color.

Medicinal uses
In Ayurvedic practices (indigenous system of  Indian medicine), turmeric is thought to have many medicinal properties and many in south Asia use it as a readily available antiseptic for cuts, burns and bruises.  It is also used as an antibacterial agent.

It is taken in some Asian countries as a dietary supplement, which allegedly helps with stomach problems and other ailments.  It is popular as a tea in Okinawa, japan.  People in Pakistan 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, cancer and liver disorders.

Hidradenitis Suppurativa or Acne Inversa, an uncurable and debilitating disease, is also treated with tumeric standardized extract.  It is unknown why is works, but people that have suffered from HS for 30-40 years have reported almost an immediate improvement after consuming 1 teaspoon in ¼ of warm water 3x a day.  With 1 week of using turmeric, these same people have reported almost a complete reduction of boils and purple scarring.

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 had four clinical trials underway to study curcumin treatment for pancreastic cancer, multiple myeloma, alzheimer’s, and colorectal cancer.  Curcumin also enhances the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, which supports nerve growth.

There is evidence that piperine, found in black perper, improves the absorption of turmeric. In 1998 researchers at St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore, India found that curcumin taken with 20mg of peperine increased the absorption of curcumin by 2000% with no adverse effects.  This means that a low dose of curcumin (or turmeric for that matter) could have a greater effect in terms of health benefits when combined with piperine than a large dose of curcumin or turmeric would.

Dosages between half a teaspoon three times a day of a mixture of 16 parts of turmeric powder to 1 part of ground black pepper, and two teaspoons of turmeric powder and half a teaspoon of ground black pepper per day have been recommended.

Turmeric has also been demonstrated to contain curcumin, a selective monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) of type MAO-A.

Cosmetics

Turmeric is currently used in the formulation of some sunscreens.  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 place of India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, 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, which is also known as THC) are colorless compounds that might have antioxidant 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 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 saris.

Gardening

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

Ceremonial uses

Turmeric is widely used in all parts of India during weeding ceremony.
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

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

Chemistry

Turmeric contains up to 5% essential oils and up to 3% curcumin, a polyphenol.  


Dr.Abhay Kumar Pati has a degree in integrated medicine. He studied both Ayurvedic and western allopathic medicine in J.B Ray State College of Ayurvedic Medicine and Hospital in Kolkata, known as Asthanaga Ayurvedic College, one of the India’s oldest Ayurvedic Institutions.
He is a member of  State Faculty of Ayurvedic Medicine to Govt. of  West Bengal.
Dr.Pati Pati has been living in the USA for the past 30 years, and he is the president/CEO of  Best Nutrition Products Inc, California, USA.  He is an author of several books, including, vitamins & Herbal Digest, Alternative Health Guide, Fruits of  the World, Medicinal Plants of  India.
He is the Chairman of  the Board for the Biotechayur Pvt Ltd.  Orissa, India.

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Biotechayur manufactures botanical standardized nutritional herbal extracts. Biotechayur also manufactures aminoacids, protein, and aromatic essences
The plant is located in Orissa, India