Preparation of High-Purity Aceh Curcuma Longa Powder by Maceration Method using Various Solvents of Extraction
Vina Aida Roza (a), Lilia Setya Wahyuni (a), Indriana Kartini (a,b), Tutik Dwi Wahyuningsih (a*,b)

a) Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences,
Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia.
*tutikdw[at]mail.ugm.ac.id
b) Indonesia Natural Dye Institute (INDI), Integrated Research and Testing laboratory (LPPT), Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia

Abstract

Curcumin is an active compound obtained from the extraction and isolation process of turmeric (Curcuma longa Linn.) with organic solvents. Curcumin has many uses, both in the food and cosmetic and pharmaceutical fields, because it has high bioactivity. This study aims to determine the optimal solvent for extracting curcuminoids from Aceh turmeric powder and proceed with the recrystallization process to obtain high-purity curcumin powder. Firstly, the Aceh turmeric samples were macerated with various solvents such as ethanol, (n-hexane-ethanol), and (n-hexane-ethyl acetate) for 3 hours to get the highest curcuminoid content. The result showed that n-hexane/ethanol was the best solvent with the highest percentage of curcumin content of 44.5%. Next, the extraction of curcuminoids from Aceh turmeric was carried out by stepwise maceration using hexane (1:10 (w/w)) for 13 hours under stirring and followed by ethanol (1:4 (w/w)) for 7 hours. The resulting extract powder showed a higher percentage of curcumin at 49.8%, with a yield of 9.18%. Finally, the isolation of curcumin from curcuminoids was performed by recrystallization using an azeotropic solvent (ethanol/ethyl acetate). The recrystallized powder was obtained as a yellow-orange color of the powder with increasing the percentage of curcumin content to 91% in a yield of 13.8%.

Keywords: recrystallization, curcumin, maceration, turmeric powder

Topic: CHEMISTRY AND MATERIAL SCIENCES