Turmeric
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Market name：郁金 Photo location：Museum of Materia Medica, Inst. of Nat. Med. TMPW No.：19147 |
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Plant name：Curcuma longa Photo location：Yunnan Prov., China Photo date：1992 Photographer：K. Komatsu |
| Synonym | |
| Latin name | Curcumae Longae Rhizoma |
| Botanical source: Family name | Zingiberaceae |
| Botanical source: Plant name | Curcuma longa Linné (IPNI:796451-1) |
| Part used | Rhizome |
| Empirical criteria for quality selection | Good one is stiff and the outside is bright champagne. The cross-section is dense yellow. It has a strong odor and pungency. (TN) |
| Constituents | Monoterpenoids: [C. longa]: 1,8-Cineole, d-α-Phellandrene; [C. wenyujin]: Camphor, Camphene Sesquiterpenoids: [C. longa]: α-Turmerone, β-Turmerone, d-ar-Turmerone, Zingiberene; [C. wenyujin]: Curcumol, Curdione, Wenjiine Diarylheptanoids: [C. longa]: Curcumin, Demethoxycurcumin, Bisdemethoxycurcum |
| Pharmacological effects | Hypersecretion and enhancing stomach movement (essential oil). Hypercholeresis and enhancing bile excretion (curcumin, turmerone, cineole). Antiinflammation (curcumin). Antitumor (curcumin, ar-turmerone). Choleresis (curcumin, cineole). Vasorelaxant. |
| Indications | For normalizing the gallbladder function, as an amaroid stomachic, it is applied to treat hepatitis, cholangitis, cholelithiasis and catarrhalis jaundice. As hemostatic and stimulant of menstrual discharge, it is also applied to hematemesis, hematuria, menopausal pain, hypochondrial pain and abdominal pain. |
| Diseases | Acute hepatitis, Chronic hepatitis, Cholelithiasis, Jaundice, Pain due to flatulence of hypochondrium, Anginal pain, Distending pain in the breast, Abdominal pain, Menorrhalgia, Hematemesis, Nasal hemorrhage, Hematuria, Disturbance of consciousness, High fever, Epileptic seizure, Frenzy |
| Formulas | chuoko |
| Meridian tropism | Spleen, Liver |
| Property | Warm |
| Flavor | Acrid/pungent, Bitter |
| Classification in "Shen-non Ben-cao Jing" | |
| TCM: Classification | Drugs for regulating blood conditions |
| TCM: Medicinal effects | To eliminate food stasis, promote the flow of qi, stimulate menstrual discharge and relieve pain. Used for pricking pain in the chest and hypochondriac regions, amenorrhea, mass in the abdomen, rheumatic pain of the shoulders and arms, traumatic swelling and pain. |
| Remarks | Listed in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia 18th ed. In China, the underground part of genus Curcuma is divided into rhizome and tuber. They are named differently. The rhizome of Curcuma longa L. is called Jianghuang and its tuber is called Huangsiyujin. In the case of the rhizome of C. wenyujin Y. H. Chen et C. Ling, the one which is cut longitudinally is called Pianjianghuang, the whole rhizome is called Wenezhu and the tuber is called Wenyujin. The rhizome of C. phaeocaulis Val. is called Pengezhu and the tuber is called Lusiyujin. The rhizome of C. kwangsiensis S. G. Lee et C. F. Liang is called Guangxiezhu and the tuber is called Guiyujin. According to "The Pharmacopoeia of People's Republic of China," the nature and flavor of Jianghuang (Rhizoma Curcumae Longae) is pungent, bitter in flavor and warm in property. It has the effect of eradicating blood stasis with drastic drugs, promoting the normal flow of vital energy, stimulating menstrual discharge in the case of pathological amenia and relieving pain. The literature also points out that Pianjianghang has the same nature and beneficial effects as Jianghuang. At the same time, the nature and flavor of Chinese yujin (Radix Curcumae), including Huangsiyujin, Wenyujin, Lusiyujin and Guiyujin, is pungent, bitter in flavor and cold in property. It has the effect of promotiong the normal flow of vital energy, eliminating the blood stagnation and activating the blood, removing evil heat to cause resuscitation and normalizing functioning of the gallbladder and curing jaundice. It is applied for amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea, distention and pain of the chest and abdomen, stabbing pain, loss of consciousness caused by febrile disease, epilepsy and derangement, jaundice and red urine. In Japan, Chinese Curcuma drugs are available, the rhizome of C. longa is called Ukon (Curcuma Rhizoma) and the tuber is called Gyokkin or Sengyokkin (Curcuma Radix). Therefore, Japanese "Ukon" is Chinese "Jianghuang." Gyokkin in Japan may have four kinds of original plants since Yujin in China has four originals. In Okinawa and Kagoshima prefectures, C. longa and C. aromatica Salisb. (Jap. name: Haruukon) are cultivated. Each rhizome of them is in a demand as health food. Yujin is used as raw material for curry powder, artificial color for food, indicator (Curcuma paper) and Curcuma tincture. |
| References | TN: T. Namba & Y. Tsuda ed., Outline of Pharmacognosy, a Textbook, 3rd ed., Nankodo Co., Ltd., Tokyo, 1998. |
DNA sequences of medicinal plants
| Gene Region | |||||||||||||||||||
| Nuclear | Chloroplast | Mitochondria | |||||||||||||||||
| Botanical source: Plant name | 5Ss | 18S | ITS1 | 5.8S | ITS2 | 26S | others | trnH-psbA | matK | trnK | trnK-rps16 | trnT-L | trnL | trnL-F | rbcL | rpoC1 | ndhF | others | |
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