What is curcuma?
Curcuma is the name of the genus of flowering plants, which represents approximately 80 species belonging to the Zingiberaceae family , more often known as the Gingers family. The natural range of these plants includes tropical Southeast Asia, India and East India, but are also widely grown in other parts of the world that offer a warm and humid climate. They are grown as ornamental plants or for harvesting culinary spices or raw botanical material from which herbal drugs and essential oils can be made. Longa , also known as turmeric. Like many of his cousins in the order of Zingiberale, the tubing rhizome, which is cooked, a baked oven, and then breaks down into the familiar mustard colored spices with pepper flavor. This species is the basis of the Middle East and Asian cuisine, where it is a traditional accessory of curry, soup and steamed meat.
Curcuma Caesia Sports purplish-black rhizomes and earns him the common name of the black tumerical, although the name of the speciesHe literally translates into the word blue. This species is highly appreciated for its healing properties, because at least 30 active compounds have been identified from oils extracted from its rhizome. It is used to treat everything from leprosy to tooth pain to cancer allergies. Unfortunately, excessive harvest of this kind led to its almost extinction.
properties of many types of curcuma are caused by the presence of a group of polyphenols called curcuminoids, namely desmethoxycurcumin, bis-decimethoxycurcumin and curcumin. These agents are responsible for the pulsating color of the rhizomes. As such, they are used as food ingredients to lend colors to drinks, roast goods, orange juice, popcorn, ice cream, gelatin and many other foods. It also protects food from ultraviolet light. For this reason, curcuminoids, especially curcumin, can also be found in various cosmetics and sunscreen.
Of all Curcuma species that show medical properties, Tumeric is probably the best known because it is the most widespread commercial source of curcumin. The spice has long been significant in Ayurvedic medicine, but also becomes more popular in the West to find out research supporting its possible anti -cancer value. Traditionally, curcumin is used to treat various skin disorders and gastrointestinal disorders due to its antiseptic and antibacterial properties. However, it was also found that this substance destroys the cells of the esophageal cancer in vitro and also demonstrated the potential in the treatment of colon cancer and pancreatic cancer. In addition, there are some evidence that suggests that curcumin can play a future role in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and multiple myeloma.