European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

TURMERIC, THE GOLDEN SPICE – A SHORT REVIEW ON THE APPLICATIONS OF TURMERIC

Gh. Hassan Bhat* and Ghulam Mohammad Jan

ABSTRACT

Many of these natural products have pharmacological or biological activity that can be exploited in pharmaceutical drug discovery and drug design turmeric is one of the best used natural products. Turmeric (Curcuma longa Linn) is extensively used as a spice and grown widely throughout Indian subcontinent. Turmeric plant has been used in traditional medicine as a remedy for various diseases including cough, diabetes and hepatic disorders. For the last few decades, extensive works have been done to establish the pharmacological actions of Turmeric and its extracts. Curcumin is the main chemical compound of Turmeric and proven for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimutagenic, antidiabetic, antibacterial, hepatoprotective, expectorant and anticancerous pharmacological activities.

Keywords: Turmeric, Curcumin, Anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective.