Thermal stability, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activity of curcumin and its degradation product 4-vinyl guaiacol

authored by
T. Esatbeyoglu, K. Ulbrich, C. Rehberg, S. Rohn, G. Rimbach
Abstract

Curcumin is a secondary plant metabolite present in Curcuma longa L. Since curcumin is widely used as a food colorant in thermally processed food it may undergo substantial chemical changes which in turn could affect its biological activity. In the current study, curcumin was roasted at 180°C up to 70 minutes and its kinetic of degradation was analyzed by means of HPLC-PDA and LC-MS, respectively. Roasting of curcumin resulted in the formation of the degradation products vanillin, ferulic acid, and 4-vinyl guaiacol. In cultured hepatocytes roasted curcumin as well as 4-vinyl guaiacol enhanced the transactivation of the redox-regulated transcription factor Nrf2, known to be centrally involved in cellular stress response and antioxidant defense mechanisms. The antioxidant enzyme paraoxonase 1 was induced by roasted curcumin and 4-vinyl guaiacol. Furthermore, roasted curcumin and 4-vinyl guaiacol decreased interleukin-6 gene expression in lipopolysaccharide stimulated murine macrophages. Current data suggest that curcumin undergoes degradation due to roasting and its degradation product exhibit significant biological activity in cultured cells.

Organisation(s)
Institute of Food Science and Human Nutrition
Molecular Food Chemistry and Food Development
Type
Article
Journal
Food and Function
Volume
6
Pages
887-893
No. of pages
7
ISSN
2042-6496
Publication date
01.03.2015
Publication status
Published
Peer reviewed
Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Food Science
Electronic version(s)
https://doi.org/10.1039/c4fo00790e (Access: Open)