Curcuma Longa

India's golden kitchen spice, used in homoeopathy as a mother tincture traditionally associated with the liver, digestion and aching joints.

Turmeric is a leafy plant of the ginger family, native to the Indian subcontinent and South-east Asia. Its knobbly underground stem, or rhizome, is boiled, dried and ground into the deep yellow spice found in almost every Indian kitchen. The colour comes mainly from a compound called curcumin.

Turmeric has a long place in Ayurveda, and Indian homoeopathy took it up as a mother tincture. It is traditionally associated with sluggish digestion and liver complaints, including jaundice, and with stiff, aching joints. Homoeopaths also mention it for some skin complaints and for cough.

• Sluggish digestion
• Liver complaints
• Joint pain and stiffness
• Skin complaints