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God s yellow

  • 14/08/2002

God s yellow Used as a charm to protect the wearer against evil or as a dye for making saffron coloured robes of Buddhist monks, or even as an antiseptic, turmeric is native to India and belongs to the Zingiberaceae or ginger family.

The juice from the turmeric rhizome is used medicinally for treating stomach and liver complaints, fumes from the burning rhizome are used to relieve colds, and a paste of the rhizome accelerates scab formation caused by smallpox and chicken pox. It gives a yellow colour to Indian curries and is routinely added to mustard blends and relishes. It is also used as a cosmetic and a dye.

Turmeric is the brightest of naturally occurring yellow dyes. Curcumin is the only natural pigment belonging to the diaroylmethane group of chemicals. Natural curcumin is accompanied by minor amounts of structurally or stereo-isomeric curcumins. Three pigments can be separated from an extract of turmeric, diferuloymethane, p-hydroxy cinnmoyal

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