Alpinia officinarum (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Alpinia officinarum Hance

Protologue: Journ. Linn. Soc., Bot. 13: 6 (1873).

Synonyms

• Languas officinarum (Hance) Farw. (1919).

Vernacular names

• Lesser galangal (En).
• Galanga officinal, vrai galanga (Fr)
• Thailand: khaa lek (central)
• Vietnam: riểng, riểng thuốc, cao lương khương.

Distribution

Southern China, Indo-China, wild and cultivated. Imported to Peninsular Malaysia, India and the Middle East.

Uses

The rhizomes of A. officinarum are more aromatic and pungent than those of A. galanga, but they contain more or less the same compounds, although A. officinarum has larger quantities of them. The local use of both species is approximately the same. The rhizomes are widely used in Vietnam for stomach problems including dyspepsia, flatulence, vomiting, gastralgia, colic, diarrhoea, fever and malaria, and are locally applied to infected gums. In Thailand, the rhizomes are used as carminative and for indigestion. The seeds are also used in China, for heartburn, cholera, toothache, ague and colds.

The rhizome is the source of true galangal oil used in flavour and perfume compositions to which it imparts unique, warm, spicy notes. It is also used for flavouring soft drinks such as ginger ale.

Observations

• A. officinarum is very similar to A. galanga, but is smaller in all vegetative characteristics. It is about 1-1.5 m tall, rhizomes 8-12 mm in diameter, glabrous, reddish-brown, dark brown to black.
• Leaves oblong-lanceolate, 20-40 cm × 4-10 cm, coriaceous, glabrous, shiny, ligule acuminate, pubescent.
• Raceme erect, up to 25 cm long, many-flowered.
• Flowers up to 3 cm long, white, labellum white, veined with purple.
• Capsule globular, finely pubescent.

A. officinarum occurs wild and semi-wild near villages, and open country.

Selected sources

• [62] Areekul, S., Sinchaisri, P. & Tigvatananon, S., 1987. Effect of Thai plant extracts on the oriental fruit fly I. Toxicity test. Kasetsart Journal of Natural Sciences (Thailand) 21(4): 395—407.
• [135] Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. Revised reprint. 2 volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol. 1 (A—H) pp. 1—1240, Vol. 2 (I—Z) pp. 1241—2444.
• [215] Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, 1948—1976. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials & industrial products. 11 volumes. Publications and Information Directorate, New Delhi, India.
• [264] Doan Thi Nhu, Nguyen Thuong Thuc, Do Huy Bich & Vu Thuy Huyen (Editors), 1990. Les plantes médicinales au Vietnam. Livre 1. Médicine traditionelle et pharmacopée [The medicinal plants of Vietnam. Volume 1. Traditional medicine and pharmacopoeia]. Agence de coopération Culturelle et Technique, Paris, France. 201 pp.
• [613] Lin, M.H., Hsu, S.Y., Sheih, M.J., Chen, T.F. & Chen, C.Y., 1998. Studies of antiulcer Chinese herbs (1). Chinese Pharmaceutical Journal (Taipei) 50(1): 55—66.
• [739] Nguyen Van Duong, 1993. Medicinal plants of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Mekong Printing, Santa Ana, California, United States. 528 pp.

Main genus page

• Alpinia (Medicinal plants)

Authors

• Halijah Ibrahim