Health promoting turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a member of the ginger family, and highly studied. It is very rich in health promoting phytochemicals, giving it a wide range of biological activities. Turmeric root is often consumed as a powder, usually with the addition of black pepper that supports its bioavailability.
Turmeric's best known active ingredient curcumin is often consumed as an extraction in pill form. It has: anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-fungal, analgesic, digestive, antidepressant and hypoglycemic properties. Amongst other chronic conditions, curcumin has shown potential against cancer, cardiovascular and Alzheimer’s disease.
While the spotlight and many people's purchases are focused on turmeric's highly studied curcumin - could we be missing the bigger picture?
As ever, please talk to your doctor, or medical practitioner most familiar with your medical history before implementing any changes in diet, exercise or lifestyle; especially if you are under treatment. See links to related studies at bottom of page.
The major component of the turmeric root is an orange volatile oil consisting of turmerone and other curcuminoid antioxidant compounds. The balance of phytochemicals depends on the varietal and even, to steal a term from wine growing, the terroir (geographical origin) of the rhizome itself.
So what compounds can we find in turmeric? There is a spectacular con-fusion of polyphenols...
Common Turmeric / C. longa
α-phellandrene, p-cymene, 1,8-cineole, terpinolene, ar-curcumene, α-zingiberene, β-bisabolene, β-sesquiphellandrene, ar-turmerone (=dehydroturmerone), α-turmerone, germacrone, curlone (= β-turmerone), (6S,7R)-bisabolone, and (E)-α-atlantone;
White Turmeric / C. zedoaria
1,8-cineole, camphor, α-copaene, β-elemene, β-caryophyllene, ar-curcumene, zingiberene, curzerene, germacrene B, β-sesquiphellandrene, curzerenone/epi-curzerenone and germacrone.
Wild Turmeric / C. aromatica
α-pinene, camphene, 1,8-cineole, camphor, isoborneol, borneol, β-elemene, ar-curcumene, curzerene, β-curcumene, curzerenone, germacrone, xanthorrhizol, and curdione (= 1(10)-germacrene-5,8-dione;
Black Turmeric / C. aeruginosa
camphene, β-pinene, 1,8-cineole, camphor, isoborneol, borneol, β-elemene, β-farnesene, zingiberene, curzerene, germacrene B, curzerenone, β-eudesmol, germacrone and curcumenol.
As we can see, turmeric is more than simply curcumin. It has a host of active ingredients - all of which can promote health.
Studies have even shown that turmeric with the curcumin extracted has anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory effects.
(ref. Aggarwal et al below)
Supplements versus Food
It is sometimes easy to get lost in the details of nutritional science, to be overly focused on individual ingredients or nutrients. To be sold a product as a magic bullet. Of course you can take curcumin alone and there is science to back this up, speak to your medical practitioner on whether this might suit your needs. We recommend enjoying turmeric itself, with some caveats, and taking a whole food approach.
A whole food approach does not mean chasing down a tablespoonful of (medicinal) turmeric powder everyday. A teaspoonful here or there, a culinary dose, will suffice. Consume turmeric at the same time as other foods. Some people are sensitive to its effects, gastrointestinal distress and larger doses thin the blood. To gain maximum benefit from a polyphenol rich diet, prioritise as wide variety of foods as possible, including vegetables, whole grains and legumes. Eat a rainbow of colours, enjoy fruit, nuts and seeds. Consume a variety of herbs and spices on a daily basis.
Prioritising real food provides a host of macro and micro nutrients that a supplement or two cannot provide.
Be wary of using supplements where the evidence, safety, quality of manufacture or formulation is not as strong as the marketing behind them. While curcumin supplements are generally well tolerated, they have been known to cause liver problems when over consumed.
True health benefits come from daily eating habits, over the course of time. Some may prefer a Mediterranean diet; others a similarly plant forward Asian diet. To understand more about how polyphenols can address specific health outcomes and chronic illnesses, read here. If you want to stick with curcumin as a supplement - in the correct dose - please go ahead. Just don't forget to enjoy a little turmeric - and a variety other spices - as well.
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Related Studies and Resources
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health: Turmeric
Shahrajabian MH, Sun W. The Golden Spice for Life: Turmeric with the Pharmacological Benefits of Curcuminoids Components, Including Curcumin, Bisdemethoxycurcumin, and Demethoxycurcumins. Curr Org Synth. 2024;21(5):665-683. doi: 10.2174/1570179420666230607124949. PMID: 37287298.
Kunnumakkara AB, Hegde M, Parama D, Girisa S, Kumar A, Daimary UD, Garodia P, Yenisetti SC, Oommen OV, Aggarwal BB. Role of Turmeric and Curcumin in Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Diseases: Lessons Learned from Clinical Trials. ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci. 2023 Mar 6;6(4):447-518. doi: 10.1021/acsptsci.2c00012. PMID: 37082752; PMCID: PMC10111629.
Sharifi-Rad J, Rayess YE, Rizk AA, Sadaka C, Zgheib R, Zam W, Sestito S, Rapposelli S, Neffe-Skocińska K, Zielińska D, Salehi B, Setzer WN, Dosoky NS, Taheri Y, El Beyrouthy M, Martorell M, Ostrander EA, Suleria HAR, Cho WC, Maroyi A, Martins N. Turmeric and Its Major Compound Curcumin on Health: Bioactive Effects and Safety Profiles for Food, Pharmaceutical, Biotechnological and Medicinal Applications. Front Pharmacol. 2020 Sep 15;11:01021. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2020.01021. PMID: 33041781; PMCID: PMC7522354.
Dosoky NS, Satyal P, Setzer WN. Variations in the Volatile Compositions of Curcuma Species. Foods. 2019 Feb 2;8(2):53. doi: 10.3390/foods8020053. PMID: 30717336; PMCID: PMC6406329.
Haldar S, Chia SC, Lee SH, Lim J, Leow MK, Chan ECY, Henry CJ. Polyphenol-rich curry made with mixed spices and vegetables benefits glucose homeostasis in Chinese males (Polyspice Study): a dose-response randomized controlled crossover trial. Eur J Nutr. 2019 Feb;58(1):301-313. doi: 10.1007/s00394-017-1594-9. Epub 2017 Dec 13. PMID: 29236165.
Luber RP, Rentsch C, Lontos S, Pope JD, Aung AK, Schneider HG, Kemp W, Roberts SK, Majeed A. Turmeric Induced Liver Injury: A Report of Two Cases. Case Reports Hepatol. 2019 Apr 28;2019:6741213. doi: 10.1155/2019/6741213. PMID: 31214366; PMCID: PMC6535872.
Aggarwal BB, Yuan W, Li S, Gupta SC. Curcumin-free turmeric exhibits anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities: Identification of novel components of turmeric. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2013 Sep;57(9):1529-42. doi: 10.1002/mnfr.201200838. Epub 2013 Jul 12. PMID: 23847105.
Gupta SC, Sung B, Kim JH, Prasad S, Li S, Aggarwal BB. Multitargeting by turmeric, the golden spice: From kitchen to clinic. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2013 Sep;57(9):1510-28. doi: 10.1002/mnfr.201100741. Epub 2012 Aug 13. PMID: 22887802.
Have specific polyphenol questions? Try the online Phenol-Explorer. The database "contains more than 35,000 content values for 500 different polyphenols in over 400 foods. These data are derived from the systematic collection of more than 60,000 original content values found in more than 1,300 scientific publications."
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