Curcuma longa

Curcuma longa is a widely used plant in folk medicine. In this study, we assessed the action of the ethanolic extract of C. longa on WHO strains of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi and Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis. Curcumin is one of the most active ingredients of C. longa. In the presence of the ethanolic extract of C. longa, the bacterial count of both Salmonella was remarkably increased which was statistically highly significant. We also could not demonstrate MIC value even at 50 mg/ml concentration of the extract in Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi, while Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis only showed MIC value at a very high concentration of 6.25 mg/ml. However, two common bacteria E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus showed a MIC value of 0.39 and 3.125 mg/ml respectively. Thus, the use of C. longa in materials for public use should be done cautiously.

Consumption of non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori) infection are responsible factors for induction of peptic ulcer. Extract of Curcuma longa, Piper nigrum and Berberis aristata is reported to be useful in stomach ailments and has been shown to possess antiulcer activity. Since, treatment for peptic ulceration includes a consumption of multiple herbs displays synergistic impacts compare to single herb against ulcer.  The objective of this project work was defined with a view to retain the extracts of mention herbal drugs in stomach for better antiulcer activity. Hence, aim of the present work was to design and develop a floating tablet of spray dried extract of Curcuma longa, Piper nigrum and Berberis aristata for the treatment of peptic ulceration. The floating tablets were formulated using hydrophilic polymers as Hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose (HPMC K4M and HPMC E15), Sodium CMC and Sodium bicarbonate as a gas generating agent to reduce floating lag time. The formulated tablets were evaluated for the quality control tests such as weight variation, hardness, friability, swelling index, floating lag time, and total floating time. The in vitro release study of the tablets was performed in 0.1N HCl as a dissolution media. The results of the present study clearly indicate the HPMC K4M and HPMC E15 (Batch F-11) in appropriate concentration shown sustained release floating tablets. Such system can remain buoyant for 8 hours along with the sustained drug release for the same duration.

In recent year there has been rapid increase in the standardization of selected medicinal plant of potential therapeutic significance. The rhizome of Curcuma longa reported to have good medicinal values in traditional system of medicines. The present study deals with pharmacognostic parameters for the rhizomes of Curcuma longa which mainly consist of Macromorphology, Physico-chemical constants and Phytochemical screening. This information will be used for further pharmacological and instrumental evaluation of the species and will assist in standardization for quality, purity and sample identification. Physicochemical parameters such as total ash value, acid insoluble ash value and water soluble ash value were determined which were 14.69, 1.20 and 4.12% w/w respectively. The alcohol soluble extractive and water soluble extractive were also determined. Preliminary phytochemical analysis of ethanol extract was carried out. The results were positive for steroids terpenoids, phenols, tannins and flavonoids. HPTLC analysis confirms the presence of Curcuminoids. These secondary metabolites were the active constituents of Curcuma longa Linn. that may be responsible for its pharmacological activities.

The selective enzyme assisted extraction of curcumin was developed and optimized from Curcuma longa. When water was used as solvent, 3% of curcumin were extracted representing a search for an interesting alternative for the extraction in industrial processes. A selective extraction process after the treatment with enzymes is proposed by using 30% (v/v) methanol which releases up to 15% of the curcumin, present in the rhizome. The optimal conditions were as follows: pH value was 5.5, concentration of cellulase solution was 2.5 mg/mL, incubation time was 8 h, incubation temperature was 50 ºC and solid:solvent ratio was 1:8 . Enzyme-assisted extraction was proved to be environment-friendly and economical, and could be used in natural product extraction in large scale.