Curcuma longa

PLANT NAME: Curcuma longa L.

COMMON NAMES: 'Ölena ("yellow") [Hawai'i]; turmeric [English]; yu jin ("constrained gold" - tuber), jiang huang ("ginger yellow" - rhizome) [China]; açafrão-da-índia [Portuguese]; achirilla [Colombia]; ago, ango [Samoan, Tongan]; azafrán de la india [Spanish]; avea [Fiji]; cu nghe (fresh), bot nghe (dried) [Vietnam]; dilaw [Tagalog]; 'ena [Marquesas]; geelwortel [Holland]; gelbwurz [Germany]; gurkemeie [Norway]; gurkemeje [Denmark]; gurkmeja [Sweeden]; haldi [Hindi]; halodhi [Assami]; halud [Bengali]; haridra, gauri [India]; hsanwen [Burma]; kanghwang [Korea]; keltajuuri [Finland]; kha min [Thailand]; klacze kurkumy [Poland]; kunyit [Malaysia]; kurcum [Arabia]; manjal [Tamil]; manjano [Swahili]; re'a [Tahiti]; renga [Cook Islands]; romiet [Khmer]; safran des indes [French]; tœrmerik [Iceland]; ukon [Japan]; yuquilla [Costa Rica]; zholty imbir [Russia].

FAMILY: Zingiberaceae.

TOXICITY:
Curcumin antioxidants are safe and powerful anti-inflammatory agents. [Miquel 2002, Chainani-Wu 2003] Tumeric is known to be safe in low and moderate doses. The constituent curcumin is not toxic to humans at doses ranging from 8-10 g / day [Cheng 2001, Aggarwal 2003].
In mice, 100 mg / kg / day for 90 days dose of C. longa ethanol extracts had no acute or chronic toxicity [Qureshi 1992].

CAUTIONS AND CONTRAINDICATIONS
• Not in pregnancy.
• Not with acute jaundice, hepatitis, bile duct obstruction, or gall stones. (Note: in China, the tuber yu jin is considered cooling and is used for damp heat jaundice... your call....)
• High doses may aggravate the GI system. Not with gastric ulcers or hyperacidity.
• In China the tuber is not used with Eugenia caryophyllata (ding xiang).

ENERGETIC CAUTIONS: Not in excess pitta. Not with Liver or Gall Bladder Heat. See Cautions above.

USE AS FOOD: A major component of curry powder, providing its color. Sometimes used as an adulterant of mustard.

RANGE: Hawai'i, India, China, Philippines, Java, Malaya, Nepal, and Brazil. Native to India.

NOTES 'N QUOTES
• 'Ölena is listed in an Assyrian herbal written around 600 BC.
• Marco Polo compared the similarities of turmeric to saffron in 1280.
• In India, tumeric is stored in 20' deep pits and can last as long as 3 to 4 years.