Curcuma longa [Linn] (turmeric), of the Zingiberaceae family, has a great importance in the food,textile, and pharmaceutical industries. The aim of this work was to i
dentify the best processingconditions to maximize the yields of essential oil and pigments, as well as their content of
ar-turmerone,(
![](/images/gifchars/alpha.gif)
and
![](/images/gifchars/beta2.gif)
)-turmerone, and the curcuminoids, respectively. Autoclave pressure and distillation timewere the variables studied for the steam distillation process. The highest yields of essential oil (0.46wt %) and pigment (0.16 wt %)-expressed as curcumin,
demethoxycurcumin, and bis
demethoxycurcumin-were obtained at a pressure of 1.0 × 10
5 Pa and a time of 2 h. On the other hand, with extraction byvolatile solvents, the best yield of essential oil (5.49 wt %) was obtained when using 0.175, 0.124,0.088 mm particles (Foust, A. S.; Wenzel, L. A.; Clump, C. W.; Maus, L.; An
dersen, L. B.
Princípiosdas Operações Unitárias; Editora Guanabara Dois S.A.:
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1982), at 40
![](/images/entities/<font color=)
deg.gif">C, and6 h of extraction. However, the best yield of pigment (7.98 wt %) was obtained un
der the sameconditions, except for the temperature (30
![](/images/entities/<font color=)
deg.gif">C).Keywords: Volatile solvents; steam distillation;
Curcuma longa