Objective: To provide some valuable information for the research on species systematization and quality standardization of Curcuma drugs.
Methods: Colorimetry, TLC-colorimetry and water vapour distillation were used to determine the contents of curcuminoids, curcumin and essential oils of 34 samples of Curcuma produced in China.
Results and conclusion: The contents of curcuminoids and curcumin are different upto an extent of over 100 times among the varieties of Curcuma, and those of essential oils to an extent of 6 times. But there is little difference in the samples of the same species from different producing areas. There is also an obvious correlativity between the contents of curcuminoids and essential oils in the varieties of curcuma.