ALPINIA GALANGA

Common name: Thai Ginger, siamese ginger, Greater Galangal • Hindi: bara-kulanjan • Kannada: dhumarasmi • Malayalam: chitta-ratta • Marathi: kosht-kulinjan • Sanskrit: dhumala, dhumparastma •Tamil: akkulati, anaivacampu • Telugu: dumparaashtrakamu • Urdu: Khulanjan, qulanjan

Botanical name:   Alpinia galanga   

Family: Zingiberaceae (Ginger family)

Synonyms: Alpinia carnea, Alpinia alba, Alpinia viridiflora

Introduction : Thai Ginger grows to a height of about 5 feet, the leaves being long, rather narrow blades, and the flowers, of curious formation, growing in a simple, terminal spike, the petals white, with deep-red veining distinguishing the lip-petal. The ranched pieces of rhizome are from 3.5-7.5 cm in length, and seldom more than 2 cm thick. They are cut while fresh, and the pieces are usually cylindrical, marked at short intervals by narrow, whitish, somewhat raised rings, which are the scars left by former leaves. They are dark reddish-brown externally, and the section shows a dark centre surrounded by a wider, paler layer, which be comes darker in drying. Their odour is aromatic, and their taste pungent and spicy. Galanga is a very popular spice in whole South East Asia and especially typical for the cuisine of Thailand. It is also known and used in Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Southern China.

MORPHOLOGY Alpinia galangal in commonly known as Greater galangal. Its root stocks are tuberous and slightly aromatic, Leaves are oblong-lanceolate, acute, glabrous, green above, paler beneath, with slightly callus white margins, sheaths are long and glabrous, ligule are short and rounded. Flowers greenish white, in dense flowered, 30 cm Panicles; bracts ovate-lanceolate. Calyx tubular, irregularly 3-toothed. Corolla lobes oblong, claw green, blade white, striated with red, rather more than 1 cm long, broadly elliptic, shortly 2-lobed at the apex, with a pair of subulate glands at the base of the apex, with a pair of subulate glands at the base of claw. Fruit the size of the small cherry, orange red.

Chemical constituents:- Galanolactone, Pentadecane, 7-heptadecane, Quercetin, Kaempferol, Galangin, Kaempferide

Medicinal uses

Antimicrobial Activity, Antiinflammatory, Hepatotoxicity, Anti- HIV, Immunomodulator, Anti Diabetic, Anti-Oxidant, Anti-Ulcer

Traditional Uses of Alpinia Galanga The rhizome of the plant is used as carminative, digestive tonic, anti-emetic , anti-fungal, antitumor, Anti-helmintic, anti-diuretic, anti-ulcerative, anti-dementia. The extract of rhizome shows anti-tubercular activity, hypothermia, bronchial catarrh, tonic, stomachic and stimulant.