Hexane turmeric extract and Isolation of
curcuminoids
Dry rhizomes of Curcuma longa (1.0 kg)
were extracted with hexane (6 L) for 10 h using a
soxhlet extractor to give hexane turmeric extract
as a yellow oil weighing 53.75 g (5.38% dry
weight). The hexane solution was evaporated to
dryness by a rotary evaporator to give hexane
turmeric extract containing 59.92% ar-turmerone
as the major compound. The hexane turmeric
extract was analyzed by GC-MS (Krittika et al.,
2007). The residue was then extracted with ethyl
acetate (6 L) for 40 h using a soxhlet extractor.
The ethyl acetate solution was concentrated,
filtered and recrystallized with ethanol to produce
32.76 g and 32.28% curcuminoids as orange
crystals, with a melting point of 176-178°C
(Jayaprakasha et al., 2005). The crystals contained
86.5% curcumin, 13.4% demethoxycurcumin and
0.1% bisdemethoxycurcumin by HPLC analysis.
The curcuminoids were analyzed by HPLC
(Marsin et al., 1993).