Turmeric polar extract (TPE) was obtained by dielectric-precipitation of turmeric slurry and found to contain three proteins with two in the 10-11 KDa range being dominant. Antioxidative activity and persistence (AP) of TPE (5%, w/v) respectively showed 87% and 85% greater generation of alkoxy- and peroxyl radicals compared the non-redox-active buffer alone showing significant (p<0.05) pro-oxidative behavior. Conversely, purified curcumin (CU) (0.1% w/v) was dramatically antioxidative with AA and AP values of 2,828 and 1,129%, respectively, compared to the blank. However, a combination of the two at the same concentration dropped these values to 590 and 389%, respectively, reflecting dramatic dampening of the efficacy of CU. Ultraviolet radiation significantly modulated the efficacy of CU where UVB (300 nm) exposure gave the highest enhancement when limited to five min. Data showed that turmeric contains highly pro-oxidant polar proteins that significantly dramatically diminishes the beneficial antioxidative efficacy of its principal phytochemical, CU.