FWD 2 Botanical Adulterants Monitor #14


Turmeric Root/Rhizome and Extract Bulletin Published by the Program

In May the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program released the Botanical Adulterants Bulletin (BAB) on turmeric adulteration.1 Turmeric (Curcuma longa, Zingiberaceae) dietary supplements have seen a steady increase in sales in the United States and other parts of the world. In the United States, turmeric has been the top-selling dietary supplement in natural food stores for over five years and has ranked fifth in sales in mainstream retail outlets in 2017. This recent success in the market has enticed deceitful suppliers to find new ways to adulterate turmeric extracts, particularly by adding synthetic curcumin, the main diarylheptanoid in turmeric, to turmeric extracts to impart a false sense of quality to their product.

However, turmeric adulteration is not new: high amounts of lead due to the use of lead chromate as a colorant to polish the root/rhizome surface and make it visually more appealing has been reported as early as the 1970s.2,3 The sale of zedoary (C. zedoaria) or wild turmeric (C. aromatica) labeled as turmeric has also been known for several decades.4

The turmeric bulletin, written by Ezra Bejar, PhD, an expert in botanical research, gives a summary of the many facets of turmeric adulteration, including the known adulterants, analytical methods to authenticate turmeric-derived ingredients, and provides information on the nomenclature, cultivation, harvest, and market importance of turmeric. Manufacturers of turmeric dietary supplement and food products may use the bulletin as a source of information on quality issues with the ingredient, and as a basis to implement appropriate guards against purchasing adulterated material.

References

  1. Bejar E. Adulteration of turmeric (Curcuma longa) root and rhizome, and root and rhizome extracts -Botanical Adulterants Bulletin. Austin, TX: ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program. 2018;1-11. http://cms.herbalgram.org/BAP/BAB/TurmericRootandRhizomeandExtracts.html. Accessed July 11, 2018.
  2. Syed AM, Qadiruddin M, Khan A. Detection and estimation of lead in Curcuma longa bulbs (turmeric) by atomic adsorption spectrophotometry. J Chem Soc Pak. 1987;9(3):387-390.
  3. Nagaraja Rao UN, Divakar NG, Hartman CP. Adulteration of spices - detection. In: Development and Prospects of the Spice Industry in India [Symposium Proceedings]. Bangalore, India: Printersall Private Ltd. 1974:48-49.
  4. Sen AR, Gupta PS, Dastidar NG. Detection of Curcuma zedoaria and Curcuma aromatica in Curcuma longa (turmeric) by thin-layer chromatography. Analyst. 1974;99:153-155.