Vol. 11, Issue 1 (2022)

Author(s):
Anjali Kumari, Chandan Prasad and Rajesh Kumar

Abstract:
An experiment on extraction of essential oil and curcumin content was carried out at chemistry lab of D.A.V. College, Kanpur. Turmeric samples were collected from A.N.D. University of Agriculture and Technology Kumarganj, Ayodhya (U.P.) and analysed for its curcumin content and essential oil in different varieties (N.D.H.-1, NDH-2, NDH-3, NDH-98 and Prabha) of turmeric (curcuma longa). Curcumin, the most active polyphenolic constituent of turmeric curcuminoids obtained from rhizome curcuma longa holds a high place in Ayurvedic medicine. It has been shown that curcumin have a wide spectrum of biological activities such as antifungal, antidiabetic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-allergic, anti-protozoal and antibacterial activities. The results of study disclosed that turmeric sample of variety NDH-2 has higher curcumin percentage (8.44%) followed by NDH-1 (7.715%), NDH-98 (7.626%) Prabha (6.733%) and minimum percentage was found in NDH-3 (2.248%). As regards essential oil content, maximum essential oil content was found in Prabha (3.91%) followed by NDH-3 (3.45%), NDH-2 (2.79%), NDH-1 (2.42%) and the lowest in NDH-98 (1.63%). Thus, result shows that maximum curcumin was found in NDH-2 and maximum essential oil content in Prabha.