SPECTRAL AND PHOTOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF CURCUMIN

Curcumin, bis (4‐hydroxy‐3‐methoxyphenyl)‐l,6‐heptadiene‐3,5‐dione, is a natural yellow‐orange dye derived from the rhizome of Curcuma longa , an East Indian plant. In order to understand the photobiology of curcumin better we have studied the spectral and photochemical properties of both curcumin and 4‐(4‐hydroxy‐3‐methoxy‐phenyl)‐3‐buten‐2‐one (hC, half curcumin) in different solvents. In toluene, the absorption spectrum of curcumin contains some structure, which disappears in more polar solvents, e.g. ethanol, acetonitrile. Curcumin fluorescence is a broad band in acetonitrile (λ max = 524 nm), ethanol (λ max = 549 nm) or micellar solution (λ max = 557 nm) but has some structure in toluene (λ max = 460, 488 nm). The fluorescence quantum yield of curcumin is low in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solution (φ= 0.011) but higher in acetonitrile (φ= 0.104). Curcumin produced singlet oxygen upon irradiation (φ > 400 nm) in toluene or acetonitrile (Φ= 0.11 for 50 μ M curcumin); in acetonitrile curcumin also quenched 1 O 2 ( k q , = 7 × 10 6 M −1 s −1 ). Singlet oxygen production was about 10 times lower in alcohols and was hardly detectable when curcumin was solubilized in a D 2 O micellar solution of Triton X‐100. In SDS micelles containing curcumin no singlet oxygen phosphorescence could be observed. Curcumin photogenerates superoxide in toluene and ethanol, which was detected using the electron paramagnetic resonance/spin‐trapping technique with 5,5‐dimethyl‐pyrroline‐. N ‐oxide as a trapping agent. Unidentified carbon‐centered radicals were also detected. These findings indicate that the spectral and photochemical properties of curcumin are strongly influenced by solvent. In biological systems, singlet oxygen, superoxide and products of photodegradation may all participate in curcumin phototoxicity depending on the environment of the dye.