Isolation Curcumin from Turmeric Plant

            Curcumin compound produced by Curcuma longa plant or we can call it turmeric. It has many scientifically-proven health benefits, such as the potential to prevent heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and cancer. It’s a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant and may also help improve symptoms of depression and arthritis. A compound inside a plant can be isolated by using a specific step and method.

            The first step is extraction by using the maceration and partition method. The turmeric roots need to be dried and powdered before start the maceration method. After getting that dried and powdered turmeric roots, soak it in the methanol at the room temperature and leave it for one night. Then evaporate the methanol extract to obtain a crude methanol extract. The next method is partition twice with different eluents. First partition with n-hexane and the second partition with ethyl acetate. The target compound will be found in the ethyl acetate extract because they have a similar polarity.

            The second step is separation by using gravity column chromatography. Separate the ethyl acetate extract by gravity column chromatography on silica gel. Elute the extract in column with n-hexane and ethyl acetate as a mobile phase. It will obtain some fractions and then characterized it by using Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC). When it has more than one spot, repeat the chromatography until it has only one spot left.

            The last step is compound identification by using the spectroscopy method. Check the existence of the compounds by using TLC and elute it with n-hexane and ethyl acetate. Make sure it has only one spot left which means it is the pure compound target. The pure compound needs to identify with infrared spectroscopy first. The purpose is to know the functional groups on the compound. The next is to identify with ultraviolet spectroscopy to know the structure compound based on its wavelength. The last is to identify with NMR spectroscopy, include H-NMR and C-NMR.

            Curcumin has many scientifically-proven health benefits. Isolation of curcumin compound from turmeric plant is easy to do by three steps, such as extraction, separation, and identification. This is the best steps and methods to isolate a curcumin as far because it is easier, cheaper, and faster to do.