Curcuma longa L.: uma revisão sobre composição química e atividades biológicas in vitro

Abstract

The consumption of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) has increased considerably for both dietary and medicinal purposes, in view of the presence of bioactive phenolic compounds, especially in its rhizome. Through its remarkable organoleptic characteristics, specific aroma, spicy flavor and intense coloration, this species has been widely used by the food industry. In addition, due to its association with various biological properties and the benefits attributed to its use, the pharmaceutical industry has also been investing in studies on turmeric for medicinal purposes in the treatment of various diseases. Thus, it is notorious the large number of studies involving turmeric and for this reason, the objective of this work was to review the literature evidencing the chemical, nutritional and therapeutic properties of Curcuma longa L., in view of its great application in the food and pharmaceutical industry. For this, a bibliographic survey was carried out to obtain the information through the scientific platforms Google Scholar, Pubmed and ScienceDirect, using articles, dissertations, theses, manuals and scientific journals. Thus, it was possible to observe through this study that this species reveals a set of promising results for its use, given the components present in its chemical composition that give it nutrients and promising biological properties for its use by the food and drug industry.