Curcumin
The bright yellow pigment found in turmeric root
No single value: Curcumin is a material, and its colour varies. The background shows its family, yellow.
Curcumin is a vivid yellow chemical found in the rhizomes of the turmeric plant, Curcuma longa. It is the main pigment responsible for turmeric’s colour and is widely used as a food colouring, flavouring, and in cosmetics. Although it has been studied for possible health effects, no medical uses are supported.
- Curcumin is the main yellow pigment in turmeric.
- It is used as a food colouring (E100) and flavouring.
- Curcumin was first isolated in 1815.
- It is unstable and poorly soluble in water.
- No medical use for curcumin is supported by studies.
What colour is Curcumin?
Curcumin is a strong yellow pigment that comes from the turmeric plant, which is part of the ginger family. It gives turmeric its bright yellow colour. As a chemical, curcumin is a polyphenol and is the main curcuminoid in turmeric. It stands out for its intense colour and is used to colour and flavour foods, as well as in cosmetics.
Where does Curcumin come from?
The name curcumin comes from the turmeric plant, Curcuma longa. In 1815, chemists Henri Auguste Vogel and Pierre Joseph Pelletier first isolated the yellow substance from turmeric rhizomes. Later, its chemical structure was worked out in 1910, and it was first made in a lab in 1913. Curcumin is the main pigment in turmeric, which has a long history in cooking and traditional practices.
How is Curcumin made?
Curcumin is extracted from the rhizomes (underground stems) of the turmeric plant. Chemically, it is made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and belongs to a group of phenolic pigments. It is poorly soluble in water but dissolves well in organic solvents. In food, it is used as a colouring agent and is labelled as E100 in the European Union.
Where Curcumin is used
Curcumin is most often used as a colouring and flavouring in foods like curry powders, mustards, butters, and cheeses. It is also found in turmeric-flavoured drinks, especially in South and Southeast Asia. Besides food, it is used in cosmetics and as an ingredient in dietary supplements. Its use as a food additive is approved in both the European Union and the United States.
Yellow around the world
What the yellow family means from country to country.
The yellow disc of the Aboriginal flag is the sun, giver of life. The flag was designed by the Luritja artist Harold Thomas and first flown in Adelaide in 1971.
Sacred and holySource: Australian Aboriginal flagAt the gaye holud, held a day or two before a wedding, relatives rub turmeric paste on the bride and groom. Guests dress in yellow and orange.
Weddings and marriageFestival and celebrationJoySource: Gaye holudOn Pohela Falgun, the first day of spring, young women wear yellow and orange saris, a shade called basanti, with flowers in their hair.
Festival and celebrationNature and renewalJoySource: Pohela FalgunThe Flemish flag is a black lion on yellow, and the Walloon flag a red cockerel on yellow. The language communities are often shown by these colours.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of FlandersThe flag is yellow, the colour of the Sultan. By custom, ordinary people did not wear yellow in the ruler's presence.
Royalty and powerPrideSource: Flag of BruneiThe national football team plays in a yellow shirt with green trim, the canarinho. It was chosen in a newspaper contest after the 1950 World Cup final was lost in white.
Festival and celebrationPrideJoySource: Brazil national football teamShades and relatives of Curcumin
Curcumin is the main curcuminoid in turmeric, but there are other related compounds in the same plant. Its colour can vary slightly depending on how it is processed or what it is mixed with. When it reacts with boric acid, it forms a red compound called rosocyanine. Curcumin is sometimes confused with other yellow food colourings such as annatto and carmine, but it is less stable than these.
Questions people ask about Curcumin
What colour is curcumin?
Curcumin is a bright yellow pigment, responsible for the colour of turmeric root.
Where does the name curcumin come from?
The name comes from the turmeric plant, Curcuma longa, from which curcumin is extracted.
What is curcumin used for?
Curcumin is mainly used as a food colouring and flavouring, and is also found in cosmetics and dietary supplements.
Is curcumin used as a medicine?
Although curcumin has been studied for possible health effects, no medical uses are supported by research.
How is curcumin made?
Curcumin is extracted from the rhizomes of the turmeric plant and can also be synthesised in the laboratory.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Curcumin", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. The swatch is an approximation: named colours are not fixed standards, and every screen shows them a little differently. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.
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