Faculty Advisor(s)

Anna Fedor

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Abstract

Turmeric is a spice most commonly found in Indian cuisine that is known for its medicinal properties. The most active compound that can be found in turmeric is curcumin. Curcumin is a polyphenol that is best known for its antioxidant and anticancer properties. Curcumin is mostly insoluble in water so the extraction of curcumin from turmeric was achieved by using ethanol or dichloromethane/hexane as the solvent. Since turmeric is not soluble in these solvents, a small amount of turmeric was soaked in larger amount of ethanol or dichloromethane/hexane to allow the curcumin to be dissolved out. The resulting solution can be filtered to separate the dissolved curcumin from the solid turmeric. Computational analysis can be done using instruments such as a UV-Vis and Mass Spectrometry to confirm whether or not the extraction process was a success. One of the reasons that curcumin is not widely used to treat carcinomas is due to it poor absorbance and digestion by the human body. The effects of the stomach enzymes pepsin and ɑ-amylase on the digestion of curcumin is one of the main focuses of this research.

Publication Date

2020

Document Type

Poster

Department

Chemistry & Biochemistry

Keywords

Curcumin, Polyphenol, Extraction, Characterization, ɑ-Amylase

Disciplines

Food Chemistry | Food Science | Life Sciences

Characterization and Analysis of Curcumin Extracted from Turmeric Using Mass Spectrometry and UV-Vis Spectroscopy

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