含高單位薑黃素薑黃油醋醬之產品開發

薑黃是當今最熱門研究的草本植物，其主成分薑黃素(curcumin)被認為具有許多醫療價值與功效。在古印度及中國醫學上都曾以薑黃治療發炎疾病、保護肝臟、皮膚疾病及創傷，現代醫學也證實其具有抗氧化、抗發炎、抗真菌、抗病毒及抗癌的功效，因此對諸多疾病，如糖尿病、關節炎、阿茲海默症(Alzheimer’s disease)及其他發炎類疾病有預防及治療的效果。薑黃素不溶於水，因此口服吸收差，目前有兩種方式可以改善；其一是透過靜脈注射被微脂體包埋的薑黃素，這在體外或動物體內實驗皆能顯出抗癌活性；另一則是同時吃下胡椒素(Piperine)，可促進薑黃素的吸收，並能抑制小腸與肝臟對薑黃素之葡萄糖醛酸化，使得薑黃素的血中活性增加近20倍。本研究目的即利用薑黃素的疏水特性，搭配油性食材，企圖增加薑黃的口服吸收率。本研究先選取最優質薑黃原物料（薑黃素含量37.29 mg/g）加入其他食材，製作成不同比例配方之產品，針對吸收最好的配方，再分析其薑黃素的含量，另亦進行動物實驗，可由對血壓降低的活性來直接判斷薑黃配方是否產生預期性的效果來證明配方產品比單一薑黃更具優質的效果。經多重測試衍生出數種配方產品，最後挑選其中兩支薑黃風味和風醬，並與他廠牌和風醬進行品評試驗及樣品指標成份定量分析。經由標準品對照測算可得知，薑黃和風醬樣品之薑黃素含量約為424.84 ± 13.41 μg/ml，由此數據可推估，此原物料經由加工製成產品後，仍保有高單位含量之薑黃素，並具有清爽不膩之口感，可藉由油醋醬的橄欖油成分溶入疏水性的薑黃素以利人體吸收，藉由感官品評分析比較出與市售和風醬有所差異且具機能性，故開發出薑黃和風醬一產品。

關鍵字

薑黃；薑黃素；降血壓；和風醬；疏水性

並列摘要

Turmeric is one of the hottest research herbs today. Its main ingredient, curcumin, is considered to have many medical values and benefits. Turmeric has been used in ancient India and Chinese medicine to protect liver, and to treat inflammatory diseases, skin disease and trauma. Modern medicine study also confirmed that it has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antiviral and anti-cancer efficacy, therefore many diseases, such as diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer's disease and other inflammatory diseases can be prevented and treated by curcumin. Curcumin is insoluble in water and shows poor oral absorption. There are two ways to improve its poor absorption. The first one is using intravenous injection of curcumin encapsulated by liposomes. The second way is simultaneous oral administration with piperine which can promote the absorption of curcumin. Some studies revealed that it can suppress the glucuronidation of curcumin in small intestine and liver, so that its activity in blood increased up to 20-fold. The objective of this study was to increase the oral absorption rate of turmeric by mixing hydrophobic curcumin with oil formulation. In this study, the best quality of Jianghuang material (curcumin content is upto 37.29 mg/g) was selected. Using this raw material coupled with different ingredients, several formulations were designed. The formulation with the best absorption rate was screened using stability and release tests then its curcumin content was further analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Moreover, its antihypertensive effect was evaluated and compared with that caused by turmeric-only formula. Based on the best formulation, two kinds of vinegar sauce with turmeric flavor were developed, and their tastes were compared with two commercial vinegar sauces using sensory evaluation. The result revealed that the turmeric flavor vinegar sauce shows a refreshing but not greasy taste over other commercial vinegar sauces. The curcumin content of the developed vinegar sauce was determined as high as 424.84±13.41μg/ml even after several processing steps, which implied that hydrophobic curcumin indeed can be dissolved into olive oil well which facilitates the absorption of human body. Meanwhile, the turmeric flavor vinegar sauce also possesses a better taste over other commercial vinegar sauces. Therefore, we expect that the market acceptance of this turmeric flavor vinegar sauce is promising.