Extractability of Curcuminoids is Enhanced with Milk and Aqueous-Alcohol Mixtures

Authors: KOTHA, RAGHAVENDHAR - University Of Maryland; TAREQ, FAKIR - University Of Maryland; Luthria, Devanand - Dave

Submitted to: ACS Food Science and Technology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/28/2022
Publication Date: 7/30/2022
Citation: Kotha, R.R., Tareq, F.S., Luthria, D.L. 2022. Extractability of Curcuminoids is Enhanced with Milk and Aqueous-Alcohol Mixtures. ACS Food Science and Technology. 27:4883. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27154883.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27154883

Interpretive Summary: Turmeric, a plant-derived curry spice that originated from India and is currently consumed worldwide, has been well recognized for its health benefits determined by multiple in vitro, in vivo, animal and human studies. The health benefits of turmeric are primarily attributed to the three important curcuminoids present, namely curcumin (CUR), demethoxycurcumin (DMC), and bisdemethoxycurcumin (BMC) which constitute 3-5% of the turmeric dry weight. This research evaluates the extractability of the three bioactive curcuminoids in different milks and aqueous-alcohol mixtures. The extractability of curcuminoids varied with the type of milk sample and the proportion of alcohol in aqueous-alcohol mixtures. This study suggests that the extractability of curcuminoids from turmeric will be highly dependent on other foods in a meal.

Technical Abstract: In this study, we evaluated the extractability of three curcuminoids (curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin) from turmeric powder in several solvents using a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode-array detection method. These solvents include water, milks (homogenized, 2% reduced-fat, low-fat, fat-free, soy, almond, coconut, and milkademia), and aqueous ethanols (0%, 4%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, and 100%). Ambient water was able to extract only 0.55 mg/g, whereas warm water extracted more than 4-fold higher amounts (2.42 mg/g). Almond, coconut, and milkamedia milk only extracted very small amounts at ambient temperatures (0.01-0.07 mg/g). The extractability of these milks did not improve even in warm conditions (0.08-0.37 mg/g). Whereas dairy and soy milks extracted 6.76-9.75 mg/g under ambient conditions and their extractability was increased significantly in warm conditions by 30-100% higher (11.7-14.9 mg/g). The solubility of curcuminoids also varied remarkably in different proportions of aqueous alcohol mixtures. With 4% ethanol, only 1.7 mg/g of curcuminoids were extracted and the amounts increased with the increase in ethanol content up to 50% (32.2 mg/g), while 100% ethanol extracted a similar amount as 50% ethanol (34.2 mg/g). This study suggests that the extractability of curcuminoids from turmeric will be highly dependent on other foods in a meal.