Turmeric, a dried powder derived from the rhizome of Curcuma longa, has been used for centuries in certain parts of the world and has been linked to numerous biological activities including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antigrowth, anti-arthritic, anti-atherosclerotic, antidepressant, anti-aging, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, wound healing, and memory-enhancing activities. One component of turmeric is curcumin, which has been extensively studied, as indicated by more than 5600 citations, most of which have appeared within the past decade. Recent research has identified numerous chemical entities from turmeric other than curcumin. It is unclear whether all of the activities ascribed to turmeric are due to curcumin or whether other compounds in turmeric can manifest these activities uniquely, additively, or synergistically with curcumin. However, studies have indicated that turmeric oil, present in turmeric, can enhance the bioavailability of curcumin. Studies over the past decade have indicated that curcumin-free turmeric (CFT) components possess numerous biological activities including anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antidiabetic activities. Elemene derived from turmeric is approved in China for the treatment of cancer. The current review focuses on the anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities exhibited by CFT and by some individual components of turmeric, including turmerin, turmerone, elemene, furanodiene, curdione, bisacurone, cyclocurcumin, calebin A, and germacrone.

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Curcumin-free turmeric exhibits anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities: Identification of novel components of turmeric

Members of the genus Curcuma L. have been used in traditional medicine for centuries for treating gastrointestinal disorders, pain, inflammatory conditions, wounds, and for cancer prevention and antiaging, among others. Many of the biological activities of Curcuma species can be attributed to nonvolatile curcuminoids, but these plants also produce volatile chemicals. Essential oils, in general, have shown numerous beneficial effects for health maintenance and treatment of diseases. Essential oils from Curcuma spp., particularly C. longa, have demonstrated various health-related biological activities and several essential oil companies have recently marketed Curcuma oils. This review summarizes the volatile components of various Curcuma species, the biological activities of Curcuma essential oils, and potential safety concerns of Curcuma essential oils and their components.

/pdf/chemical-composition-and-biological-activities-of-essential-51atdp34j8.pdf

Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Essential Oils of Curcuma Species.

ObjectivesCurcuma zedoaria Rosc is a perennial herb found in tropical countries, such as India, Japan and Thailand. Various parts of this plant are used in Ayurveda and other folk medicines for the treatment of different ailments such as diarrhoea, cancer, flatulence and dyspepsia. This study is an attempt to compile an up-to-date and comprehensive review of C. zedoaria that covers its traditional and folk medicinal uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology.



Key findings Research carried out using different in-vitro and in-vivo techniques of biological evaluation supports most of the claims.



Summary This review presents the botany, chemistry, traditional uses and pharmacological data of the plant.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1211/jpp.61.01.0003

Curcuma zedoaria Rosc.(white turmeric): a review of its chemical, pharmacological and ethnomedicinal properties

https://repository.um.edu.mo/bitstream/10692/4521/1/Lu-2012-Anti-cancer-properties-of-terpenoid.pdf

Anti-cancer properties of terpenoids isolated from Rhizoma Curcumae--a review.

Antioxidants are vital substances which possess the ability to protect the body from damage caused by free radical induced oxidative stress. A variety of free radical scavenging antioxidants exist within the body which many of them are derived from dietary sources like fruits, vegetables and teas. In this study the antioxidant activity and radical scavenging activity of methanolic extracts of selected plant materials, traditionally used by Iranian population as folk remedies was evaluated against linoleic acid peroxidation and 2,2diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical. The antioxidant activity expressed as IC 50 ranged from1.28 ng/ml in Biebresteinia multifida to 63.48 ng/ml in Polypodium vulgare. Radical scavenging activities expressed as IC 50 varied from 1.83 µg/ml in Salix sp. to 187.88 µg/ml in Allium hirtifolium.

http://ijpr.sbmu.ac.ir/article_758_b0b89fced762771dbb14bb2bd0e98115.pdf

Screening of thirteen medicinal plant extracts for antioxidant activity

Anti-inflammatory sesquiterpenes from Curcuma zedoaria

A concise total synthesis of solamin (1) and cis-solamin (2) was performed using an epoxy alcohol (11) as a versatile chiral building block for synthesizing the stereoisomers of the mono-THF annonaceous acetogenins.

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Asuka Kuwabara

Papers

Anti-inflammatory sesquiterpenes from Curcuma zedoaria

A concise synthesis of solamin and cis-solamin, mono-THF acetogenins from Annona muricata

A Concise Synthesis of Solamin (I) and cis‐Solamin (II), Mono‐THF Acetogenins from Annona muricata.