Curcumin vs. Turmeric | What's The Difference?

Curcuma longa, better known as turmeric, is a flowering plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Turmeric is in the same family (Zingiberaceae) as ginger, and just like ginger, the use of turmeric is focused on the roots.

Is Curcumin the same as Turmeric?

The roots of turmeric are chock full of bioactive compounds, the most studied class of which are the curcuminoids. Within the class of curcuminoids, we are often most interested in a single compound called curcumin, which besides being a bright orange pigment also has a plethora of health benefits!

Historical Uses of Turmeric

Turmeric has been used for centuries for both culinary, textile dyeing and supplement applications. It is most commonly known for its bright orange color and pungent earthy flavor in Indian cuisine. The flavor of turmeric can be attributed primarily to it’s essential oil content with the main essential oil being alpha-turmerone. In addition to being used as a staple spice in cooking, the bright orange color of turmeric allows it to be used as a dyeing agent, and as such, is commonly used as a natural dye for both textiles and food products.

Although turmeric is widely used for culinary applications, the roots can be contaminated with high levels of heavy metals. When farmed, turmeric easily absorbs heavy metals from its environment. This means that when it is grown in polluted areas, turmeric can absorb and concentrate heavy metals in its roots. This is obviously problematic as large amounts of turmeric root are used in culinary applications. In recent years, we have seen turmeric contain unacceptable levels of copper, arsenic and lead. Worse yet, turmeric appears to also be routinely spiked with lead chromate which also has a bright yellow/orange color. Even in US grocery stores, samples of turmeric powder have been found to be contaminated with lead chromate.

Many scientists are now working with turmeric farmers to create better farming practices that prevent turmeric from concentrating heavy metals. Although farmers are working on creating better turmeric farming practices, opting for properly lab tested curcumin is in our opinion the only way to safely attain turmeric benefits. All of our curcumin products are tested for heavy metals and are in compliance with prop 65 heavy metal regulations, which is in stark contrast to even the best culinary turmeric products out there, which to our knowledge are not ever tested for their heavy metal content.

Curcumin is one of the main curcuminoids present in the roots of turmeric. While curcumin does not contribute to the characteristic taste of turmeric (this is attributed to its essential oil content), it is one of the main pigment compounds and is responsible for the majority of turmeric effects. Although curcumin is most highly naturally concentrated in turmeric, it is also found in other botanicals such as ginger.

- Curcumin promotes cognitive function*
- Curcumin supports balanced inflammation levels*
- Curcumin promotes emotional wellbeing*
- Curcumin promotes cardiovascular function*

Curcumin has many great benefits but one of it’s strongest focuses is on supporting balanced inflammation and oxidation levels. This is done by keeping the nucleus from receiving inflammatory signals, regulating inflammation of immune cells and regulating the stress on inflammatory enzymes. When curcumin balances inflammation and oxidation levels, emotional wellbeing is also promoted.

One of the most interesting functions of curcumin is its ability to turn endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) on or off. eNOS, iNOS and nNOS are always present in your body, it's just up to different compounds to bring out their benefits! Curcumin activates nNOS which supports memory. This goes hand-in-hand with curcumin's ability to block iNOS which may help promote neuroprotection while also helping to promote balanced inflammation levels. Finally, it also activates eNOS which may induces vasodilation and help promote blood flow and overall cardiovascular function!

Curcumin is absorbed at a significantly higher rate when taken in tandem with other supplements that aid in its absorption. Our recommendation is to take Piperine Extract Capsules, which is found in the plant that flowers peppercorns, in addition to curcumin. If that seems like too much work, we also provide premade curcumin + piperine mixes designed to bring you the best of all curcumin benefits! No matter what you’re looking for, we have a curcumin option for you. Continue reading to learn more about the variety of Curcumin supplements Nootropics Depot has to offer you. Ideally, at the conclusion of this blog, you will be able to pick the best Curcumin supplement for you based on your supplementation goals.

Curcumin powder is straight curcumin without anything else added to it. Although this has a lower rate of absorption than the other curcumin options available, the dosage is significantly higher (at 500mg) which helps offset some of the low absorption of plain curcumin and the cost is much lower than our other curcumin offerings. It is also able to provide localized effects on supporting balanced inflammation and oxidation levels, specifically in the intestines!

Piperine comes from black pepper and greatly impacts the bioavailability of curcumin! Adding piperine to the mix helps to unlock the door of absorption so that curcumin can be fully integrated and provide its benefits. It specifically helps prevent the glucuronidation of curcumin which is one of the main hindrances in initial curcumin absorption.

CuroWhite is obtained through catalytic hydrogenation, which means adding hydrogen atoms to the curcumin molecule, to create tetrahydrocurcumin, hexahydrocurcumin and octahydrocurcumin. This hydrogenation step breaks carbon double bonds which gets rid of the annoying orange pigmentation of plain curcumin while also improving its effects. These compounds are then microencapsulated in cyclodextrins to act as a “trojan horse” to get them past most of the barriers to absorption and into the body. Both of these steps help to boost curcumin’s absorption and support of balanced inflammation and oxidation levels!

You can learn even more about CuroWhite Curcumin by clicking here.

Longvida curcumin is an impressive formulation for naturally extracted curcumin from turmeric. Once the curcumin is extracted, it is then surrounded by a Liposome, which again works like a “trojan horse” to get the curcumin to absorb. Specifically, Longvida does a fantastic job of getting curcumin across the blood brain barrier and into the brain, which is an incredibly tough feat for curcumin to achieve on its own! As a result of this bioavailability enhancement process Longvida curcumin has better bioavailability than most other curcumin products on the market, especially when considering its ability to get curcumin into the brain!