Free radicals, reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) have
been known to contribute several degenerative diseases such as cardiovascular diseases,
aging, certain types of cancers, rheumatoid arthritis, neurodegenerative, and diabetes
mellitus. In order to overcome the negative effects of these radicals, some scientists have
explored some natural antioxidants from plants and it's by-products. The antioxidant can
be defined as any substances or samples capable of inhibiting free radical reactions in the
oxidation reaction. Due to curcuminoids contained, Curcuma species such as Curcuma
longa, Curcuma heyneana, Curcuma mangga, and Curcuma xanthorriza were commonly
used for herbal components in some traditional medicine. Several in vitro tests been
introduced and used to measure antioxidant activities, namely radical scavenging assay
using 2,2’-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6
-sulfonic acid) (ABTS•+), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), ferric-thiocyanate,
phosphomolybdenum method, cupric ion reducing antioxidant capacity, metal chelating
power, beta-carotene bleaching linoleic-ferric-thiocyanate, and thiobarbituric acid
methods. This review highlighted the antioxidant activities in vitro of C. longa, C.
heyneana, C. mangga, and C. xanthorriza through several tests. To perform this review,
several repute databases were analyzed and used. From this review, it can be stated that
Curcuma species have powerful antioxidant activities, therefore they could be potential
sources of natural antioxidants and can be used as food supplements.
Review on in vitro antioxidant activities of Curcuma species commonly used as herbal components in Indonesia
