VOLATILE CONSTITUENTS AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES OF FRESH RHIZOME OF CURCUMA LONGA LINN.

Curcuma longa Linn. syn. Indian saffron, curcuma in hindi known as haldi (f Zingiberaceae.) is a tall herb. It is a native of South Asia & is cultivated extensively throughout warmer parts of the world, including India. Volatile constituents of the fresh rhizomes of curcuma by GLC and GC-MS resulted in the identification of twenty seven components. The oil consists of seven monoterpenes, out of which three were hydrocarbons, three alcohols and one ester.Fifteen sesquiterpenes out of which nine hydrocarbons, three alcohols, one ketone, one oxide and one epoxide. Sesqueterpenes of which spanthulenol (46.6%) was the major components followed by β- eudesmol (15.1) and ar - turmerone (9.7%) and oil also consist of five non terpenic compounds. Volatile oil of Curcuma longa in higher concentration showed significant antibacterial activity against the strains of Staphylococcus aureus (16.4 mm) followed by Escherichia coli (14.2 mm), significant anti fungal activity against Candida albicans (13.1 mm) followed by Aspergillus niger (12.5 mm). The alcoholic extract of Curcuma longa showed more potent antioxidant activity in comparison to aqueous extract.