Curcumin Research
You have reached the page dedicated to the research of curcumin, a secondary plant metabolite and biophenol of interest to the Sturgeon Research Project. This page was created and is maintained by Stephanie Saey and Nadia Ayala.
Curcumin Research Initiative
Preparation of Curcuminoid Standards from Turmeric Plant
Curcumin is a secondary plant metabolite of the turmeric herb Curcuma longa. The term "curcumin" has been used to refer to the bioactive molecule, but in reality curcumin has three derivatives of different molecular structures: curcumin (I), demethoxycurcumin (II), and bisdemethoxycurcumin (III). Together, the aforementioned structures are known as curcuminoids. A review of curcumin studies suggest curcuminoids have chemotherapeutic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activity, among other uses to be discovered. However, difficulty arises when seeking to study the derivatives of curcumin individually. Curcumin I is only available in small amounts, while demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin remain unavailable commercially. The current research project aims to develop a method to successfully isolate, purify, and characterize the curcuminoids in amounts great enough for further investigation. With MeOH under reflux, the curcuminoids will be extracted from turmeric and subsequently subjected to Flash Chromatography for individual isolation. High-Pressure-Liquid Chromotography will be performed on each fraction to confirm complete separation. Once the curcuminoids are separated, NMR data collection will take place to compare the chemical properties of each derivative.
The Three Curcuminoids
Curcumin I (Main Curcuminoid, in picture below), demethoxycurcumin (curcumin II), and bisdemethoxycurcumin (curcumin III) are the three major curcuminoids present in turmeric and of interest to this study. Their respective chemical structures are depicted below:
Curcuminoid Analogs with Potent Activity (Article)
Sourcing turmeric
In order to proceed with the proposed research project, we needed to purchase turmeric from a reliable, science-conscious company. We chose to order 1 lb of organic and 1 lb of non-organic turmeric from Starwest Botanicals here.
Overview of Proposed Methodology
Procedure is modeled after the following study: Kiuchi, F, Goyto, Y, Sugimoto, N, Akao, N, Kondo, K, Tsuda, Y. Nematocidal activity of turmeric: synergistic action of curcuminoids. Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo) 1993;41:1640-3.
- Extract curcuminoids with MeOH under soxhlet extraction.
- Partition MeOH supernatant with ethyl acetate (AcOEt) and water for purification purposes.
- Fractionate AcOEt extract by silica gel column chromatography to yield AcOEt curcumin eluents.
- Fractionate AcOEt eluents by silica gel TLC using chloroform: acetone = 8:1 as the solvent system.
- Purify each eluent by removing organic solvent (?) and analyzing under HPLC.
Extracting Curcuminoids under Soxhlet Distillation
- Weigh out 150.00g of turmeric powder with an analytical balance.
- Measure out 300.00mL MeOH using a burette.
- Place above compound and solvent in stillpot of soxhlet apparatus.
- Carefully turn on heat source and water source.
- Run extraction for 6-7 hours.