Study of Curcumin Degradation Using UV-Vis Spectrophotometry and Density Functional Theory

The study of curcumin degradation has been carried out by optimizing the effect of pH and solvents using the UV-Vis spectrophotometric method. The stability of curcumin decreased as pH increased. Curcumin was degraded rapidly in alkaline solutions. Curcumin has different maximum wavelengths in the different solvents. The UV spectrum of curcumin shifted as the pH increased. The UV spectra of curcumin shifted towards a smaller wavelength in alkaline solution. The shift in the UV spectra was due to curcumin degradation in an alkaline solution. In addition, Density functional Theory (DFT) calculation was carried out to simulate the curcumin and its degradation product ground states and excited states. The absorption spectra calculated using the TDDFT method showed that the maximum wavelength of curcumin and its degradation products agreed with the experimental data.