PREPARATIVE SEPARATION OF CURCUMINOIDS FROM CRUDE CURCUMIN AND TURMERIC POWDER BY pH-ZONE-REFINING COUNTERCURRENT CHROMATOGRAPHY

Abstract

Turmeric powder and its main component, curcumin, have a wide range of medicinal and culinary uses. The purpose of this study was to separate and purify curcumin from demethoxycurcumin and bis-demethoxycurcumin which are present in both turmeric powder, and commercial crude curcumin.

The separation and purification of curcumin was accomplished through standard high-speed countercurrent chromatography (CCC) as well as pH-zone-refining CCC. The pH-zone-refining CCC technique was able to separate multi-gram quantities of curcumin and other curcuminoids from crude curcumin and turmeric powder, while maintaining a high level of purity.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors are indebted to Dr. Henry M. Fales for editing the manuscript.