薑黃來源於薑科薑黃屬植物薑黃(Curcuma longa L.)的根莖。薑科薑黃屬植物約60 餘種,分佈較廣,盛產於東南亞和澳大利亞北部。

始載於《唐本草》, 後在宋代唐慎微的《本草圖經》 、明代李時珍的著作及清代吳其浚的《植物名實圖考》等中國古代醫藥學著作中都有記載。中醫認為，本品辛、苦、溫，歸肝、脾經，有活血行氣、祛風止痛之功，適用於氣滯血淤所致的胸脅疼痛、經閉腹痛、風寒濕痺。

薑黃素(curcumin) 最早是在1870 年從薑黃中首次分離出來。在東方醫學體系中對薑黃素的使用有著悠久的歷史, 而目前西方醫學對薑黃素也越來越關注。 薑黃素目前是世界上銷量最大的天然食用色素之一, 是世界衛生組織和美國食品藥品管理局以及多國準許使用的天然食品添加劑。

薑黃素是中藥薑黃的主要成分,有重要的經濟價值和廣泛的藥理作用,如抗氧化、抗炎、抗動脈粥樣硬化、降血脂、抗病毒、抗感染、抗肝纖維化等。此外,抗癌是薑黃素的主要藥理活性之一,其抑制腫瘤的作用, 用於治療腫瘤的歷史悠久。已在許多實驗中得到反覆證實,其具體抗癌機制已成為近期研究熱點。

Curcumin

“Turmeric” comes from the rhizome of the plant Curcuma longa L., which belongs to the Curcuma and Zingiberaceae genus. There are about 60 species of Curcuma plants, which are widely distributed in Southeast Asia and northern Australia.

The efficacy of turmeric was first recorded by ancient medical scholars in the medical book of “Tang Bencao (Tang Materia Medica)”, then “Bencao Tujing (Illustrated Classics of Materia Medica)” by Tang Shuowei from the Song Dynasty, followed by “Zhiwu Mingshi Tukao (Textual research on titles of plants)” by Li Shizhen and Wu Qijun from the Ming and Qing Dynasty, respectively. Chinese Medicine Practitioners suggest that this product tastes spicy, bitter, and mild in flavour, which is categorised in the use for liver and spleen section. It helps in stimulating blood circulation and pain relief. It’s suitable for curing chest or thrombosis pain caused by blood clots, abdominal pain due to stagnation of blood, and arthralgia due to cold-dampness.

Curcumin was first extracted from turmeric in 1870 for the first time. There has been a long history in the usage of curcumin by the Eastern medicine system, however, today, curcumin is also gaining increased attention in the West as well. Curcumin is currently one of the world’s largest selling natural food additive, and has been widely approved by the World Health Organization, US Food and Drug Administration and many other countries.

Curcumin is the main ingredient of turmeric, it has significant economic value and a wide range of beneficial pharmacological effects, such as anti-oxidation, anti-inflammatory, anti-atherosclerosis, hypolipidemic, anti-virus, anti-infection, anti-liver fibrosis. In addition, one of the main pharmacological activities of curcumin is the anti-cancer effect, which inhibits the role of the tumour, as well as treating it. It has already been repeatedly confirmed in numerous experiments, and curcumin’s anti-cancer effect has recently become a major research focus.

This article is for academic purposes only and should not be construed as a functional claim or referral to any branded product and to the diagnosis and treatment of any disease.