Most of us are familiar with turmeric as one of the principal ingredients in curries and curry powder as well as being more widely used as a food colouring. Turmeric (Curcuma longa) has deep traditional roots in Indian medicine where it has been used for centuries. Much of the recent interest in this fascinating ingredient has focussed on one of the main components, curcumin. Curcumin and Turmeric are often spoken about as if they are the same thing. This is not the case. Curcumin is just one component of the whole Turmeric herb – Turmeric actually provides over 200 different, potentially beneficial, compounds.
