ABSTRACT
Turmeric is a medicinal plant, which is also known as “golden spice” and “spice of life”. It has been utilized as a medicinal plant and treated as sacred from the ancient Vedic period. The spice turmeric is derived from rhizome of Curcuma longa, which is a perennial herb, belonging to the Zingiber family (Fig. 8.1). It is originated in India and is cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions of the whole world (Kojima et al. 1998). Curcumin is the natural, most active polyphenolic compound present in turmeric. Curcumin is the most studied compound of turmeric because of its therapeutic properties. Curcumin is crystalline, orange-yellow and the color of turmeric is mainly due to the presence of curcumin in Curcuma longa. The rhizome of turmeric is documented as “herb of the sun” by the people of the Vedic period. Turmeric was used as medicine from at least 6000 years ago. It is most extensively cultivated in India, Bangladesh, China followed by Malaysia, Thailand (Kojima et al. 1998, Shishodia et al. 2005). The use of turmeric, known as “Haridra” was first time stated in ‘Arthavaveda’ and turmeric has been considered as an effective drug for skin diseases, graying of hair, etc. Even in Tibetan medicine the term “Haridra” means turmeric (Nadkarni 1976). Turmeric is one of the important spice which add flavors and color to food. In the middle-east, Iran is a major importer of turmeric. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of United Nations projected that approximately 5000 tons of turmeric is imported annually to Iran. The consumption of curcumin is increasing in Iran (Nadkarni 1976, Asgharil et al. 2009).
