Chemical modification of natural curcumin isolated from rhizomes of Curcuma longa L.

Abstract

Curcuma longa L. exists in wild state in the mountain of eastern region from Cuba, curcumin was isolated starting from the rhizomes of the plant trough extraction assisted by ultrasound, purification of curcumin was achieved trough crystallization, the product this way obtained it was subjected to a prenylation reaction which allowed to obtain a semisynthetic derivative which shown higher lipophility than curcumin. Products isolated or synthesized were characterized by modern techniques of chemical analysis.

Keywords: Curcuma longa, curcumin, prenylation, lipophility.