Curcumin: A Multifunctional Molecule for the Detection of Various Adulterants, Pathogens, and Toxins in the Agro‐Food Industry

Food safety and quality are increasingly undermined by adulterants, contaminants, pathogens, toxins, and spoilage processes, necessitating rapid, sensitive, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable detection systems. Traditional analytical methods typically depend on synthetic dyes, heavy metal salts, strong acids, and resource-intensive processes, limiting sustainability and on-site applicability. In line with green analytical chemistry and clean-label technologies, naturally derived sensing materials have gained increasing attention. Curcumin, a natural polyphenolic compound from Curcuma longa, has emerged as a safe, renewable, low-toxicity, and multifunctional alternative for agro-food safety monitoring. Its pH responsiveness, fluorescence behavior, redox activity, metal-chelation capacity, chemical reactivity, and strong binding affinity enable its function as a ligand, indicator, and active sensing agent. This review critically examines recent advances in curcumin-based detection strategies for food adulterants, pathogens, toxins, microbial spoilage, and quality deterioration, with a focus on its interaction mechanisms, colorimetric and fluorescent indicators, biosensors, smart packaging, and shelf-life monitoring. Additionally, the potential of curcumin-based indicators for detecting pesticide residues, toxic gases, and chemical residues, beyond the food sector, is also discussed. Although curcumin-based sensing systems represent a promising and sustainable approach for advancing next-generation food safety monitoring, further studies are required to improve sensor integration, stability, and selectivity to allow large-scale adoption.