Product Information

Curcumin is extracted from turmeric root, the extraction process is more diverse, organized a few common extraction process for your reference.

Solvent extraction method

Decoction method: 

Cut turmeric rhizome into small pieces or slices, put into the appropriate amount of solvent (such as ethanol, methanol, water, etc.), heating and boiling for a certain period of time, so that curcumin dissolved in the solvent, and then filtered, concentrated to get curcumin extract. Advantage is simple operation, low cost; disadvantage is the extraction time is long, high temperature, may lead to curcumin decomposition, and the extraction rate is relatively low.

Reflux method: 

After mixing turmeric raw material with solvent, extraction is carried out in a heated reflux device. The solvent is continuously evaporated, condensed and refluxed into the extraction vessel during the heating process, which is in full contact with the turmeric raw material and improves the extraction efficiency of curcumin. Compared with the decoction method, the reflux method has a higher extraction efficiency, but the same problem of higher temperature may affect the stability of curcumin.

Leaching method: 

After turmeric is crushed and placed in the extraction solvent, it is immersed for a certain period of time at room temperature or appropriate temperature, so that curcumin is slowly dissolved into the solvent. The method is gentle and has less influence on the structure and activity of curcumin, but the extraction time is longer and the extraction rate is to be improved.

Auxiliary extraction method

Ultrasonic assisted extraction method:

On the basis of solvent extraction, the use of ultrasonic cavitation, mechanical and thermal effects, accelerate the leaching of curcumin from turmeric raw materials into the solvent. Ultrasonic-assisted extraction has the advantages of short extraction time, high extraction rate, simple operation, etc., and at the same time, it can avoid the influence of high temperature on the active ingredients of curcumin.

Microwave-assisted extraction: 

With the electromagnetic field of microwave, the molecular movement of turmeric raw materials is intensified, generating heat, thus accelerating the dissolution and diffusion of curcumin. Compared with the traditional water extraction, microwave-assisted extraction is characterized by high selectivity, short operation time, small solvent consumption and high yield of active ingredients.

Enzymatic extraction method

Enzymatic digestion of turmeric cell wall using cellulase, pectinase, etc. destroys the structure of the cell wall so that curcumin can be more easily released from the cell, thus increasing the extraction rate. Enzymatic extraction has the advantages of mild conditions, high selectivity, high extraction rate, and environmental friendliness, but the cost of enzymes is high and the enzymatic conditions need to be strictly controlled.

Supercritical fluid extraction

Supercritical CO₂ extraction method:

 taking supercritical CO₂ as the extractant, it is widely used because of its advantages of lower critical temperature and pressure, stable chemical properties, non-toxicity, non-flammable and so on. Under certain temperature and pressure conditions, CO₂ has good solubility for curcumin and can extract curcumin from turmeric raw materials. This method has the advantages of high extraction efficiency, good product quality and no solvent residue, but the equipment investment is large and the running cost is high