SyneraBotanica
Materia Medica

Zingiberaceae

Turmeric

Curcuma longa

The golden rhizome: a bitter-pungent anti-inflammatory and liver herb whose activity depends heavily on how it is prepared and combined.

Also known as
Haridra, Jiang huang
Parts used
Rhizome
Taste
Bitter, Pungent
Energetics
Warming · Drying
Sourcing
Cultivated

Actions

Anti-inflammatoryCholagogueAntioxidantHepatoprotectiveCarminative

Traditional use

Used for thousands of years in South Asian food, ritual and medicine — applied to wounds, taken in milk for coughs and given for jaundice and joint pain.

Traditionally always cooked with fat and black pepper, a culinary practice that modern pharmacokinetics has vindicated.

Research

  • Reduces arthritis symptoms

    Clinical

    Meta-analysis of RCTs found turmeric extracts reduced joint pain and inflammation comparably to NSAIDs in some trials.

    Daily JW, Yang M, Park S. J Med Food. 2016;19(8):717–729.

  • Piperine raises curcumin bioavailability ~20-fold

    Clinical

    Co-administration of 20 mg piperine with 2 g curcumin raised serum levels by roughly 2000% in human volunteers.

    Shoba G et al. Planta Med. 1998;64(4):353–356.

Key constituents

Curcuminoids (curcumin, demethoxycurcumin)
Poorly water-soluble and rapidly conjugated — low oral bioavailability alone.
Turmerones (volatile oil)
Aromatic fraction that may enhance curcumin absorption.

Sourcing notes

Test for lead — adulteration with lead chromate to brighten color has been documented in some supply chains.

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