The Effects of Media and Blanching Time on the Antioxidative Properties of Curcuma aeruginosa Roxb.

Black saffron (Curcuma aeruginosa Roxb.) belongs to the family of Zingiberaceae is one of rhizomes widely used as raw material in Indonesian Traditional Medicines. Black saffron (BS) contains some bioactive compounds responsible for certain biological activities including antioxidant. Blanching has been reported to increase the antioxidant activity of BS. This study aims to formulate BS containing high antioxidant activity. This research was performed by varying blanching medium (citric acid and aquadest) and blanching time (0; 2.5; 5; 7.5 and 10 min). The fabrication stage of BS powder included peeling, cleaning, blanching, slicing drying, grinding, and sieving. After that, the treated BS was analyzed for the antioxidant activity, total phenolic, total flavonoid, tannin, crude fiber, and water contents. BS powder subjected to blanching process showed better antioxidant activity than that without blanching process. Blanching using citric acid media 0.05% for 5 min showed the best antioxidant activities, as indicated by high contents of total phenolic, total flavonoid, and tannins. Powdered BS is potential to be used as materials to be applied as fortifying agents in food products.