Curcumin Extraction, Isolation, Quantification and Its Application in Functional Foods: A Review With a Focus on Immune Enhancement Activities and COVID-19

Soubhagya Tripathy; Deepak Kumar Verma; Mamta Thakur; Ami R Patel; Prem Prakash Srivastav; Smita Singh; Alok Kumar Gupta; Mónica L Chávez-González; Cristobal Noe Aguilar; Nishant Chakravorty; Henu Kumar Verma; Gemilang Lara Utama

doi:10.3389/fnut.2021.747956

Curcumin Extraction, Isolation, Quantification and Its Application in Functional Foods: A Review With a Focus on Immune Enhancement Activities and COVID-19

Front Nutr. 2021 Sep 21:8:747956. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2021.747956. eCollection 2021.

Affiliations

¹ Agricultural and Food Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India.
² Department of Food Technology, School of Sciences, ITM University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India.
³ Division of Dairy Microbiology, Mansinhbhai Institute of Dairy & Food Technology-MIDFT, Gujarat, India.
⁴ Department of Life Sciences (Food Technology), Graphic Era (Deemed to Be) University, Dehradun, India.
⁵ Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, University Institute of Applied Health Sciences, Chandigarh University, Chandigarh, India.
⁶ Division of Post-Harvest Management, ICAR-Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture (Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India), Lucknow, India.
⁷ Bioprocesses Research Group, Food Research Department, School of Chemistry, Universidad Autonoma de Coahuila, Saltillo, Mexico.
⁸ School of Medical Science and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal, India.
⁹ Department of Immunopathology, Comprehensive Pneumology Center, Institute of Lungs Biology and Disease, Munich, Germany.
¹⁰ Faculty of Agro-Industrial Technology, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, Indonesia.
¹¹ Center for Environment and Sustainability Science, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia.

Abstract

An entirely unknown species of coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak occurred in December 2019. COVID-19 has already affected more than 180 million people causing ~3.91 million deaths globally till the end of June 2021. During this emergency, the food nutraceuticals can be a potential therapeutic candidate. Curcumin is the natural and safe bioactive compound of the turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) plant and is known to possess potent anti-microbial and immuno-modulatory properties. This review paper covers the various extraction and quantification techniques of curcumin and its usage to produce functional food. The potential of curcumin in boosting the immune system has also been explored. The review will help develop insight and new knowledge about curcumin's role as an immune-booster and therapeutic agent against COVID-19. The manuscript will also encourage and assist the scientists and researchers who have an association with drug development, pharmacology, functional foods, and nutraceuticals to develop curcumin-based formulations.

Keywords: COVID-19; curcumin; functional food; human health; human immune system; immunological activity; separation methods.

Publication types

Review