Abstract
A novel hydrotropy-based extraction method for selective extraction of curcuminoids from Curcuma longa (turmeric) was investigated. The degree of extraction was dependent upon the effect of a hydrotrope on the cellular structure and hydrotrope–curcuminoids interactions. Hydrotropes directly affect the cell structure, making curcuminoids more accessible either by dissolution of the cell membrane/wall constituents or by disorganizing cell wall. Sodium cumene sulfonate (Na-CuS) was found to be an efficient hydrotrope for the extraction of curcuminoids. A significantly strong interaction with sodium n-butyl benzene sulfonate (Na-NBBS) of curcuminoids was undesirable in the recovery of curcuminoids from the extract phase, although Na-NBBS was extremely efficient in extracting curcuminoids. The two-step process, hydrotropic solubilization followed by dilution using water with or without pH adjustment, gave good yields of curcuminoids with high purity.
Acknowledgment
We wish to thank Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India, New Delhi, for financial support of this work.