Properties and Biological Effects of Curcumin in Food Product Development

ABSTRACT

Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.), a spice and food coloring agent in food preparation, contains a carotenoid pigment called curcumin. Curcumin has attracted extensive research interest owing to its health benefits, ranging from neuroprotection to chemoprevention and antioxidation. It also exhibits anti-cancer effects due to its capacity to inhibit cancer cell proliferation and stimulate apoptosis. However, the health-promoting effects of curcumin are limited by its poor aqueous solubility and low oral bioavailability. This article presents an overview of the latest understanding of the biological effects of curcumin and its use as a food additive in the development of functional food products.

KEYWORDS:

• Curcumin
• food products
• bioavailability
• oral administration
• turmeric

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Harris Zhang and Yau-Foon Tsui for their support and comments which helped to improve an earlier version of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).