Extracting Curcumin From Turmeric
Please remember that curcumin occasionally causes liver damage, especially in certain sensitive people. Check your liver enzymes before taking curcumin. Start with a low dose and discontinue at the first sign of trouble (stomach upset, yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes). Seek medical attention immediately if concerned.
Curcumin dissolves some plastics, so use metal or wooden utensils and glass or stainless steel containers. Be sure that any jar used for storage of turmeric or curcumin has a metal lid.
- 50g of Turmeric Powder
- 400ml of Ethanol
- 100ml of Water
Heat water in an ultrasonic cleaner to 40 degrees Celsius.
Insert wire basket into the ultrasonic cleaner.
Mix turmeric, ethanol and water in a wide, squat glass container.
Set container into the ultrasonic cleaner’s wire basket.
Sonicate for at least 40 minutes, stirring with a wooden chopstick and checking the water temperature occasionally.
Add ice cubes to the water bath to maintain the temperature close to 40 degrees.
Using decommissioned coffee filter, strain the solution remove most of the turmeric particles.
Then strain the effluent through paper towels or a paper coffee filter.
Increase concentration in the dehydrator on the warm setting (35 degrees Celcius) or covered outside in the shade if the weather is warm and dry. Reduce volume until the solution loses a strong ethanol odor and curcumin begins to fall out of solution. This process should take about 3 days. This procedure should yield about 4.3 gms of mixed curcuminoids containing about 3.2 gms of curcumin in about 80ml of fluid that is mostly water. The curcumin will fall out of solution and remain as an oily blob on the bottom of the jar. Most of the fluid can be discarded. Store refrigerated in a glass container.
Creating Curcumin Liposomes
- 1/2 cup of Water
- 3 Tablespoons of Sunflower Lecithin
- 8-10gm of Curcumin
Add 20 mls of ethanol to the product of about two curcumin extractions.
Combine with 1/2 cup sterilized water in a blender cup
Add 3 tablespoons of Sunflower Lecithin to the container. Seal well and blend for a few minutes.
Refrigerate overnight, allowing the lecithin to absorb the water. Blend occasionally.
Next day, insert wire basket into the ultrasonic cleaner set at room temperature.
Blend the lecithin/water/curcumin mixture until it is smooth and creamy.
Place blender container into the ultra-sonic cleaner’s basket.
Sonicate for 10 minutes 4 times while maintaining the water at room temperature with ice.
Check and adjust the temperature between sonications.
Transfer liposomal curcumin to a sterile glass measuring jar with a metal or glass lid and store in the refrigerator.
Calculate concentration and dose conservatively.
References
https://foodnourish.net/liposomal-turmeric-recipe/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37240220/
https://astrotas.wordpress.com/2017/01/04/combination-liposomal-vitamin-c-resveratrol-and-curcumin/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hLNga22vNI