| Summary: | For the functional food applications, antioxidant properties and the bioactive compounds of the 23 <i>Curcuma</i> species commercially cultivated in Thailand were studied. Total phenolic content and DPPH radical scavenging activity were determined. The concentrations of eight bioactive compounds, including curcumin (<b>1</b>), demethoxycurcumin (<b>2</b>), bisdemethoxycurcumin (<b>3</b>), 1,7-diphenyl-(4<i>E</i>,6<i>E</i>)-4,6-heptadien-3-ol (<b>4</b>), germacrone (<b>5</b>), furanodienone (<b>6</b>), zederone (<b>7</b>), and <i>ar</i>-turmerone (<b>8</b>), were determined from the <i>Curcuma</i> by HPLC. While the total phenolic content of <i>C. longa</i> was highest (22.3 ± 2.4 mg GAE/g, mg of gallic acid equivalents), <i>C.</i> Wan Na-Natong exhibited the highest DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate) radical scavenging activity. Twenty-three <i>Curcuma</i> species showed characteristic distributions of the bioactive compounds, which can be utilized for the identification and authentication of the cultivated <i>Curcuma</i> species. <i>C. longa</i> contained the highest content of curcumin (<b>1</b>) (304.9 ± 0.1 mg/g) and <i>C. angustifolia</i> contained the highest content of germacrone (<b>5</b>) (373.9 ± 1.1 mg/g). It was noteworthy that 1,7-diphenyl-(4<i>E</i>,6<i>E</i>)-4,6-heptadien-3-ol (<b>4</b>) was found only from <i>C. comosa</i> at a very high concentration (300.7 ± 1.4 mg/g). It was concluded that Thai <i>Curcuma</i> species have a great potential for the application of functional foods and ingredients.
|
|---|