Tetrahydrocurcumin

Tetrahydrocurcumin (THC) is the fully reduced form of curcumin, CAS 36062-04-1, C21H24O6, molecular weight 372.41. Curcuminoids are first extracted and crystallised from the rhizome of Curcuma longa L., then hydrogenated over palladium-on-carbon, which saturates the two conjugated double bonds of the heptadienedione bridge and destroys the chromophore. The resulting 1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)heptane-3,5-dione is a creamy white to pale yellow powder melting at 95-97 C, in contrast to the intense orange-yellow of the parent molecule. Because the source curcumin complex also contains demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin, hydrogenation yields tetrahydrodemethoxycurcumin and tetrahydrobisdemethoxycurcumin alongside THC; the published novel food composition for the tetrahydrocurcuminoid complex averages roughly 87% THC, 6.4% THDMC and 0.3% THBDMC at a total above 95% w/w. Thovek offers both the single-compound grade at 95% minimum THC and the tetrahydrocurcuminoid grade at 95% minimum total. The commercial argument for THC over curcumin is formulation behaviour, not colour alone. It is practically insoluble in water but dissolves readily in ethanol, propylene glycol, DMSO and ethyl acetate, and it is markedly more stable than curcumin in aqueous buffers at neutral and alkaline pH, where curcumin degrades and shifts red. That combination lets brands put a curcuminoid into a white tablet, a clear capsule shell, a pale cream or a light-coloured beverage without staining equipment, packaging or the consumer. INCI names for the topical grades are Tetrahydrodiferuloylmethane, Tetrahydrodemethoxydiferuloylmethane and Tetrahydrobisdemethoxydiferuloylmethane. Two quality parameters matter more here than in an ordinary botanical extract: residual curcuminoids, which reintroduce colour if hydrogenation is incomplete, and residual palladium from the catalyst, controlled at not more than 5 mg/kg by ICP-MS. Every lot ships with HPLC-UV assay at 280 nm, ICP-MS heavy metals and palladium, ICH Q3C residual solvents and full microbiology. The material is plant-derived, vegan and vegetarian, non-GMO, and carries no milk, egg, soy, fish, crustacean, gluten, peanut or tree-nut input, and no bovine, porcine or marine material; the only animal-free processing aid of note is the palladium catalyst, which is filtered out. Buyers must check market access separately from specification. In the European Union, tetrahydrocurcuminoids from turmeric are an authorised novel food under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/961 at a maximum of 140 mg/day in food supplements for adults excluding pregnant and lactating women, but that authorisation and its supporting data are reserved to the applicant, Sabinsa Europe GmbH, for five years from 11 July 2022. Until that protection lapses, another supplier's material cannot ride on that authorisation and needs its own novel food route into the EU; a comparable holder-specific position applies in Great Britain. Thovek makes no claim to that authorisation and supplies this product for markets where the buyer has confirmed its own regulatory basis, including US NDI or GRAS self-determination where applicable. Nothing here is a health, therapeutic or disease claim: the composition and physical function of the ingredient are described, and substantiation of any finished-product claim remains the brand owner's responsibility.