Curcumin with concentration strength of 8.5% is a solvent extract of turmeric rhizome. Apart from colorant, it also acts as an antioxidant and has typical turmeric like odour. Also known by the name of Indian Saffron, it is used in a wide variety of ways in Indian cooking. The turmeric roots are pulled from the ground and separated from the rest of the plant and dried. The dried rhizome is ground and curcumin is extracted using a solvent. It is also very important herb and is widely recognized in Indian Ayurvedic medicine, as a spice and as a natural food colour. Further, turmeric is also seen as an excellent natural antibiotic.

Turmeric(Curcuma longa)was probably cultivated at first as a dye, and then became valued as a condiment as well as for cosmetic purposes. It is often used in cooking as a substitute for the more costly saffron. In the 13th century Marco Polo wrote of this spice, marvelling at a vegetable which exhibited qualities so similar to saffron. Familiar to the contemporary world as a prime component of curry powder, the orange-yellow rhizome's striking colour lent it a special aura in ancient India. It has always been considered an auspicious material in the sub-continent, both amongst the Aryan cultures (mostly northern) and the Dravidian cultures (mostly southern) and its value may extend far in history to the beliefs of ancient indigenous peoples. Turmeric's common name in the north, haldi, derives from the Sanskrit haridra, and in the south it is called manjal, a word that is frequently used in ancient Tamil literature. Turmeric has a long history of medicinal use in South Asia, cited in Sanskrit medical treatises and widely used in Ayurvedic and Unani systems. Susruta's Ayurvedic Compendium, dating to 250 BC, recommends an ointment containing turmeric to relieve the effects of poisoned food.