There is so much more to turmeric than curcumin. For decades, one golden molecule has taken almost all of the spotlight, appearing on supplement labels, in headlines and in thousands of research papers.
Yet the turmeric root is not a single ingredient. It is a whole living chemistry of pigments, resins and fragrant oils, shaped by soil, rain and altitude. Some of its most fascinating compounds are only now beginning to receive the attention they deserve.
Turmerones: the fragrant science beyond curcumin
From the jewel of India comes a turmeric with more than one treasure: brilliant curcumin, and the hidden gold of turmerones.
While curcumin has dominated the conversation, scientists have also been quietly investigating another remarkable family of naturally occurring compounds: the turmerones.
Turmerones live in turmeric's aromatic essential oil, the part of the root you smell the moment you cut or grind it. They give turmeric its warm, peppery, almost woody scent, and they are a big part of its distinctive botanical character. Researchers describe curcumin and aromatic turmerone (ar-turmerone) as the two major bioactive compounds of Curcuma longa, yet ar-turmerone has been studied far less.
The 2014 study that turned heads
In September 2014, scientists at the Research Centre Jülich and the University Hospital of Cologne in Germany published a study in the journal Stem Cell Research & Therapy. They wanted to find out what ar-turmerone does to neural stem cells.
What are stem cells, and why do they matter?
Think of stem cells as the body's "blank" cells. Most cells in your body have one fixed job: a skin cell stays a skin cell, and a muscle cell stays a muscle cell. Stem cells are different. They can divide to make more of themselves, and they can develop into specialised cells when the body needs them. That makes them the body's natural renewal and repair system.
Neural stem cells are the brain's own version. For a long time, scientists believed the adult brain could not make new nerve cells at all. Today we know that small pockets of neural stem cells remain in the adult brain, in two main areas:
The hippocampus: a seahorse-shaped region deep in the brain that plays a central role in learning and memory.
The subventricular zone: a thin layer of cells lining the brain's fluid-filled chambers, which acts as a reservoir of new cells.
When these stem cells divide and mature into new nerve cells, the process is called neurogenesis. It is part of how the brain renews and maintains itself, which is why scientists are so interested in natural compounds that might encourage it.
That is exactly what made the 2014 study so remarkable.
Here is exactly what they did and found:
In the lab: the scientists grew neural stem cells from rat brain tissue for three days, adding different amounts of ar-turmerone. At the most effective amount (6.25 micrograms per millilitre), the number of stem cells rose by about 80%. The share of cells actively dividing jumped from around half to around four in five.
A sweet spot: more was not better. Low and moderate amounts did the cells no harm, but the two highest amounts reduced how many cells survived.
Becoming brain cells: over 10 days, the treated stem cells were more likely to turn into young nerve cells than untreated ones.
In living animals: three adult rats were given a single 3 mg dose of ar-turmerone, injected directly into the brain, while six rats received saltwater for comparison. A week later, brain scans showed more stem cell activity in both the hippocampus and the subventricular zone. The subventricular zone was also about 45% wider in the treated rats.
The researchers were honest about the limits. Injecting a compound into the brain is not something that can be done in people, and the lead scientist noted that it is not yet known whether eating turmeric has the same effect. This is early-stage research, not proof of an effect in humans.
Even so, it opened an exciting new direction for research into turmeric's complex natural chemistry and its potential relevance to neuroscience.
Why the whole root deserves more attention
Most turmeric products on the market are built around one thing: a concentrated curcumin extract, often standardised to 95% curcuminoids. In that process, much of the root's natural complexity is set aside, including the aromatic oils where the turmerones are found.
The ar-turmerone research is a reminder that turmeric's story did not end with curcumin. Nature rarely works through one molecule alone. The whole root carries its pigments, its fragrance and its oils together, just as it has in kitchens and traditional preparations for thousands of years.
At EMAYA, we have always believed that turmeric is more than an isolated ingredient.
Lakadong: the jewel of India
We choose rare Lakadong turmeric, a heritage variety named after the village of Lakadong in the West Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya, in north-east India. Locally it has long been known in the Pnar language as Shynrai or Chyrmit Lakadong.
Meghalaya is one of the wettest places on Earth, and its hills combine heavy rainfall, rich soils and altitude. Here, Lakadong turmeric develops its celebrated character. It also holds a Geographical Indication (GI) tag, so only turmeric from this region can carry the Lakadong name.
Curcumin: 7% to 12%
Most commercial turmeric contains roughly 2 to 3% curcumin. Lakadong grown in its home region of the Jaintia Hills is in a different league. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research reports that Lakadong grown in this niche area exceeds 7% curcumin, and published comparisons put the range at 7% to 12%. That is up to four times the curcumin of ordinary turmeric.
Our current harvest has been lab-tested at over 9% curcumin.
Turmerones: up to 44% of its aromatic oil
Lakadong's fragrance tells its own story. In a 2021 study, researchers analysed the essential oil of Lakadong turmeric grown across five different regions. Ar-turmerone, the same compound behind the 2014 neural stem cell findings, made up between 36% and 44% of the oil in the root.
In other words, close to half of Lakadong's aromatic oil can be ar-turmerone. The same study found that temperature, humidity and altitude shape both the yield and the quality of the oil, a reminder of how deeply the land shapes this root.
Rich in plant polyphenols
In a 2025 study of 42 traditional turmeric varieties from north-east India, Meghalaya Lakadong ranked second-highest for flavonoids, at 34.51 mg per gram. Flavonoids are natural plant compounds found in colourful fruits, vegetables and spices. Lakadong was also among the top samples for phenolic compounds and for antioxidant strength measured in the lab.
An exquisite flavour
All of this comes together in the cup. Lakadong's rich curcumin gives it a deep golden colour, while its abundant aromatic oil brings a warm, earthy depth and a fragrant, peppery lift. The result is a flavour that is unmistakably its own: fuller, rounder and more aromatic than ordinary turmeric, a true reflection of its exceptional natural make-up.
Rather than building our drinks around isolated curcumin extracts, we use whole-root Lakadong turmeric in carefully crafted preparations inspired by traditional Ayurvedic spice combinations. Every cup carries the root as nature made it.
A golden thread
Some connections only reveal themselves in hindsight.
When we chose the name EMAYA, we had no idea where it would lead us. Only later did we discover that in Pnar, the language of the Jaintia Hills where Lakadong turmeric grows, EMAYA means "to give love".
Perhaps that was the golden thread all along, quietly weaving us towards this extraordinary root and the people who grow it, long before we found one another.
Today, every step we have taken on this journey has carried that meaning with it: a gift of love from the Jaintia Hills to your cup.
Every part of the story
When nature creates something this extraordinary, we believe every part of its story deserves to be explored: the curcumin, the fragrant turmerones, and the hills and hands that grow it.
Discover the difference. Discover EMAYA's Lakadong turmeric.
The research described here was carried out on cells and rats, not people. EMAYA products are foods and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Sources
Hucklenbroich J, Klein R, Neumaier B, Graf R, Fink GR, Schroeter M, Rueger MA. Aromatic-turmerone induces neural stem cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Stem Cell Research & Therapy, 2014; 5:100.
Turmeric production and Lakadong curcumin content, Indian Farming, ICAR, August 2025.
Turmeric shows promise in treating neurological disorders, Consultant360 (researcher comments).
Sandeep IS, Sahoo BC, Singh S, Sahoo S, Nayak S, Kar B. Environmental Factors Influencing Yield and Quality of Essential Oils in Curcuma longa cv. Lakadong. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India, Section B, 2021.
Ali A, Anees K, Srinivasan V, Verma VK, Saxena R. Trait-led valorization of Northeastern Sub-Himalayan Indian turmeric landraces. Industrial Crops and Products, 2025; 236:122086.
Curcumin from Lakadong Turmeric, Food Safety Works.
