Abstract
The history of chemical investigations into the yellow components of turmeric can be traced from 1815. Although the major yellow component of turmeric, curcumin, often is represented as a 1,3-diketone in the solid state and in nonaqueous solution, it exists in the enol form. The struggle to identify the chemical structure of curcumin continued for nearly a century and was complicated by the difficult purification of curcumin and by the presence of two additional yellow components. Food remains the main use for turmeric (old spice); its use as a dye has diminished since the 19th century, but it may have pharmaceutical uses (new spice).
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Declaration of interest: The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of this paper.