EVALUATION OF PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS OF Curcuma Longa L. SOLD IN FAIR MARKETS

Abstract

Popularly known as saffron of the earth, Curcuma longa L. is a vegetable of Asian origin and has antitumor, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, and consists mainly of an active called curcumin. The saffron of the earth is well regarded by the population, above all, for its culinary properties. However, this spice is subject to fraud and contamination. In this sense, the objective of this research was to evaluate the physical-chemical and microbiological parameters of Curcuma longa L. sold in street markets and to identify the presence of total coliforms and fecal coliforms in the samples, using the Most Probable Number (MPN) technique; analyze the existence of Escherichia coli and others, present in several samples; determine the presence of inorganic compounds, through pH and humidity; with that, the results of this research contributed to evaluate the quality of curcurma longa L. for consumption. From the analyzes of the sowings, it was possible to verify a microbiological contamination in 75% (n=4) samples, in relation to the pH, it is observed that the results did not present a significant variation between the samples indicating low acidity. The percentage of humidity of the samples indicates little presence of water with a variation of 2.10% to 6.80% of humidity. Therefore, due to the high level of contamination found in the samples under study, it is necessary to guarantee the quality control of saffron sold in street markets, reinforcing the importance of this study, serving as references for future research.