CARACTERISATION PHOTOCHIMIQUE ET ACTIVITE ANTIBACTERIENNE DE CURCUMA LONGA

Abstract

Tropical spices are exploited by humans since ancient times. Their virtues are expressed through to their culinary interests, dyes and odorants, but also in traditional medicine. Curcuma longa L. is a plant who’s crushed and extracted ground rhizomes provide the eponymous spice known as. Science magnifies traditional medicine in the service of research and many properties of this spice are attributed to a molecule found in turmeric: curcumin. In traditional Indian medicine, turmeric is used as a remedy for coughs, biliary disorders, anorexia, wounds of diabetics, liver disorders, rheumatism and sinusitis. More recently, studies, carried out in vitro and in vivo, have shown that curcumin possesses interesting biological activities for human health including an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer and antibacterial effect. The purpose of this work is to establish the physicochemical properties of Curcuma longa to explain its biological properties, more precisely its antibacterial activity. Over the last ten years, the number of studies on turmeric and especially on its major constituent, curcumin, has continued to increase in order to understand its mechanisms of action and in the hope of treating many diseases.