900 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters . 
Curcumine occurs in the rhizom of Curcuma longa, C. viridi- 
fiora, and probably in other species of Zingiberaceae. It was 
first obtained in the crystalline form by Daube, 1 in 1870, though 
it had been studied by Yogel and Pelletier 2 as early as 1815. 
In 1881 Jackson and Menke 3 made the first correct analysis of 
curcumine and ascribed to it the formula C 14 H 14 0 4 . After mak¬ 
ing an extended study of its reactions they ascribed to it the 
structural formula,- 
CH COOH CH 
This formula was accepted until 1897 when Ciamician and 
Silber 4 concluded that the molecule contained two hydroxy and 
two methoxy groups and should be represented by the formula 
C 21 H 30 O 6 instead of C 14 H 14 0 4 . Molecular weight determina¬ 
tions made by Perkin 5 * and his associates in 1904 sustained the 
conclusion of Ciamician and Silber. Jackson and Clarke,® in 
1905-1908, made another examination which they interpreted 
as proving the correctness of Jackson’s earlier formula. In 1910 
Milobendzki, Kostanecki, and Lampe 7 by a series of synthesis 
proved the correctness of Camician and Silber’s formula, assign¬ 
ing to the molecule the structural formula given above. In 1914 
Jackson and Clarke 8 by further work confirmed this formula. 
Curcumine crystallizes in orange yellow crystals with a bluish 
reflection, and a melting point of 178°. It is insoluble in 
water and ligroin, almost insoluble in benzene, somewhat soluble 
1 Ber., 3, p. 609. 
•Jr. de Pharm., 60, p. 259. 
8 Ber., 14, p. 485; 15, p. 1761; 17, (Ref.) p. 332. 
4 Ber., 30, p. 192; Gazz. chim. ital., 27, I. p. 561. 
•Jr. Chem. Soc., 85, p. 68. 
•Ber., 38, p. 2712; 39, p. 3269; Am. Chem. Jr., 39, p. 699. 
T Ber., 43, p. 2163. 
•Am. Chem. Jr., 45, p. 48. 
