Why is the tumeric root more than just a spice?

Curcuma (Curcuma longa), also known as tumeric root, belongs to the ginger family and is native to India and Southeast Asia. Many people are sure to be familiar with tumeric from its use in the production of the spice curry and as a natural colorant. Beyond that, curcuma has been used in Indonesia (Ayurveda) and India for millenia. The most important ingredients contained are curcumin, other curcuminoids and tetrahydro-curcuminoids, which belong to the secondary plant compounds of phenols.

The bioavailability of curcumin is a problem

However, the benefits of curcumin could not been fully utilised because the human body can only absorb a small amount of natural curcumin. Or to put it in other words: the curcumin’s bioavailability through the intestine is very low. This is due to the fact that curcumin is fat-soluble and therefore, it gets absorbed poorly in the aqueous environment of the intestine. Thus, 90% of the curcumin is excreted again. This can be seen, if you look at the intestines of a person who has previously consumed curcumin: it is dyed yellow- a sign that the curcumin does not reach the metabolism, or only to a small extent. Until now curcumin was mainly combined with piperine to improve its bioavailability. As a result the blood concentration increases, but that only lasts one hour and then it quickly drops to the original level. This explains why the sustainable absorption of curcumin can not be achieved with the substance piperine, that is irritating to the mucous membrane.