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| Curcuma caesia | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Zingiberales |
| Family: | Zingiberaceae |
| Genus: | Curcuma |
| Species: | C. caesia |
| Binomial name | |
| Curcuma caesia | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
Curcuma kuchoorRoyle | |
Curcuma caesia, black turmeric or black zedoary, is a perennial herb with bluish-black rhizomes [2] that is native to northeast India. [3]
The cultivation and harvest practices are similar to that of common turmeric. [3] In the fields, the rhizomes are washed thoroughly and are placed in a wide mouthed cauldron. The water is poured in the cauldron such that the rhizomes are completely covered. The cauldron is covered with a lid, and the rhizomes are boiled for about 30 minutes until foam oozes out with a strong odour. The rhizomes are taken out when the water is reduced to one-third of the original and they are soft and their inner portion has turned from blue to dark or pale brown. The rhizomes are then dried in hot sun for 10 to 15 days until hardened. These dried rhizomes are then packed for marketing.
The research on the volatile rhizomes oil of Curcuma caesia resulted in the identification of 30 components, representing 97% of the oil, with camphor (28%), ar-turmerone (12%), (Z)-ocimene (8%), ar-curcumene (7%), 1,8-cineole (5%), elemene (5%), borneol (4%), bornyl acetate (3%) and curcumene (3%) as the major constituents.[ citation needed ] Other research demonstrated diphenylalkanoids, allylbenzene derivatives, terpenoids, flavonoids, steroids, and alkaloids as major constituents. [4]
Turmeric or Curcuma longa, is a flowering plant in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. It is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that requires temperatures between 20 and 30 °C and high annual rainfall to thrive. Plants are gathered each year for their rhizomes, some for propagation in the following season and some for consumption.
Zingiberaceae or the ginger family is a family of flowering plants made up of about 50 genera with a total of about 1600 known species of aromatic perennial herbs with creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes distributed throughout tropical Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Many of the family's species are important ornamental, spice, or medicinal plants. Ornamental genera include the shell gingers (Alpinia), Siam or summer tulip, Globba, ginger lily (Hedychium), Kaempferia, torch-ginger Etlingera elatior, Renealmia, and ginger (Zingiber). Spices include ginger (Zingiber), galangal or Thai ginger, melegueta pepper, myoga, korarima, turmeric (Curcuma), and cardamom.
Ginger is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems about one meter tall, bearing narrow leaf blades. The inflorescences bear flowers having pale yellow petals with purple edges, and arise directly from the rhizome on separate shoots.
Curcumin is a bright yellow chemical produced by plants of the Curcuma longa species. It is the principal curcuminoid of turmeric, a member of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It is sold as a herbal supplement, cosmetics ingredient, food flavoring, and food coloring.
Curcuma is a genus of plants in the family Zingiberaceae that contains such species as turmeric and Siam tulip. They are native to Southeast Asia, southern China, the Indian Subcontinent, New Guinea and northern Australia. Some species are reportedly naturalized in other warm parts of the world such as tropical Africa, Central America, Florida, and various islands of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Generally, most curcuma grows well in loose and sandy soil in shaded areas.
Curcuma zedoaria is a perennial herb and member of the genus Curcuma, family Zingiberaceae. The plant is native to South Asia and Southeast Asia but is now naturalized in other places including the US state of Florida. Zedoary was one of the ancient food plants of the Austronesian peoples. They were spread during prehistoric times to the Pacific Islands and Madagascar during the Austronesian expansion. Its use as a spice in the West today is extremely rare, having been replaced by ginger, and to a lesser extent, yellow turmeric.
Nelumbo nucifera, also known as Sacred lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often refers to members of the family Nymphaeaceae.
Houttuynia cordata, also known as fish mint, fish leaf, rainbow plant, chameleon plant, heart leaf, fish wort, or Chinese lizard tail, is one of two species in the genus Houttuynia. It is a flowering plant native to Southeast Asia. It grows in moist, shady locations. It was named after Martinus Houttuyn.
Curcuma amada, or mango ginger is a plant of the ginger family Zingiberaceae and is closely related to turmeric. The rhizomes are very similar to common ginger but lack its pungency, and instead have a raw mango flavour.
Pinosylvin is an organic compound with the formula C6H5CH=CHC6H3(OH)2. A white solid, it is related to trans-stilbene, but with two hydroxy groups on one of the phenyl substituents. It is very soluble in many organic solvents, such as acetone.
Kaempferia galanga, commonly known as kencur, aromatic ginger, sand ginger, cutcherry, is a monocotyledonous plant in the ginger family, and one of four plants called galangal. It is found primarily in open areas in Indonesia, southern China, Taiwan, Cambodia, and India, but is also widely cultivated throughout Southeast Asia.
Germacrenes are a class of volatile organic hydrocarbons, specifically, sesquiterpenes. Germacrenes are typically produced in a number of plant species for their antimicrobial and insecticidal properties, though they also play a role as insect pheromones. Two prominent molecules are germacrene A and germacrene D.
Curcuma australasica, the native turmeric, wild turmeric, or Cape York lily, is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the Zingiberaceae or ginger family.
Curcuma zanthorrhiza, known as temulawak, Java ginger, Javanese ginger, or Javanese turmeric is a plant species, belonging to the ginger family. It is known in Javanese as temulawak, in Sundanese as koneng gede and in Madurese as temu labak. The scientific name is sometimes written as Curcuma xanthorrhiza, but this is an orthographical variant.
Curcuma aromatica is a member of the genus Curcuma belonging to the family Zingiberaceae. Botanically close to Curcuma australasica, wild turmeric has been widely used as a cosmetic herbal in South Asia and nearby regions. In Malayalam, it is known as Kasthuri Manjal.
Curcuma angustifolia is one of over 80 species belonging to the genus Curcuma, in the family Zingiberaceae. This species is native to the Indian subcontinent and is more commonly known as East Indian arrowroot or narrow-leaved turmeric in English, and is called "yaipan" in Manipuri, "Aipah" in Thadou-Kuki, "tikhur" in Hindi, and "Koova" കൂവ in Malayalam/Tamil, and is called "Kutupah" in Poula. In the Eastern hemisphere, the plant plays an integral role in many cultures.
Alpinia nigra is a medium-sized herb belonging to the ginger family. The rhizome is well known in many Asian cultures as a medicinal and culinary item. In many Asian tribal communities it is a part of the diet along with rice.
The diarylheptanoids are a relatively small class of plant secondary metabolites. Diarylheptanoids consist of two aromatic rings joined by a seven carbons chain (heptane) and having various substituents. They can be classified into linear (curcuminoids) and cyclic diarylheptanoids. The best known member is curcumin, which is isolated from turmeric and is known as food coloring E100. Some other Curcuma species, such as Curcuma comosa also produce diarylheptanoids.
1,7-Bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1,4,6-heptatrien-3-one is a natural product, a curcuminoid antioxidant found in turmeric and torch ginger.
Tumerones are a group of related chemical compounds of the sesquiterpene class. They are found in turmeric, from which they derive their name, as well as other related plants such as Curcuma caesia. There are multiple structural types of turmerones which differ in the number and placement of double bonds including α-tumerone, β-turmerone, and ar-turmerone. Each of these types consists of multiple stereoisomers.
