Pharmacological profile of turmeric oil: A review

Abstract

Turmeric (Curcuma longa ) is a medicinal plant of the familyZingiberaceae widely growing throughout India. Turmeric oil issecondary metabolite of turmeric and obtained by steam distillation ofits rhizomes. Turmeric oil a lipophilic fraction from turmeric, exhibitsseveral therapeutic potentials. Turmeric oil chiefly comprises arturmeroneand β-turmerone. During more recent decades broadspectrums of therapeutically interesting pharmacological properties ofturmeric and its secondary metabolites have been reported. Recentseveral efforts made to explore the pharmacological profile andmechanism of action of turmeric revealed exceptionally broadspectrums of pharmacological activity profiles of turmeric oil. It isnow well recognized that additive or synergistic interactions betweendiverse combinations of phytochemicals are involved in healthbenefits of vegetarian diets and herbal remedies and that regularconsumption of appropriate combinations of some such ediblephytochemicals with every day meals could as well be used forprevention and cure of different health problems. Critical analysis ofavailable preclinical and clinical information on turmeric oil stronglysuggests it is pharmacologically polyvalent and possess severalpharmacological properties. Aim of this communication is tosummarize and critically analyze such data, and to point out somepossibilities for more rationally exploiting their therapeutic potentialfor discovering novel therapeutic leads, or for obtainingpharmacologically better standardized phyto-pharmaceuticals.