Botany
· Plant leafy, 1 to 1.5 m tall and with 5 to 6 leaves. Rhizomes bright yellow inside, thick and cylindric.
· Leaves: green blade oblong, 30 to 45 cm long and 10 to 15 cm wide. Petiole as long as the blade.
· Flowers: peduncle 15 cm or more in length and borne within the tuft of leaves. Spikes 10 to 20 cm in length and about 5 m in diameter. Floral bracts pale green, ovate, 3 to 4 cm long, coma bracts tinged with pink. Flowers pale yellow, as long as the bracts.
· Fruits: capsules.

Distribution
Widely distributed in the Philippines in and about towns, sometimes in open waste places and sometimes planted.

Part utilized
· Rhizome.
· Collect the whole year round. |
· Rinse, removes roots, section into pieces, steam and sun-dry.

Chemical constituents, characteristics and Pharmacological Effects
Volatile oil, 3-5% - tumerol (alcohol), d-alpha phellandrene, carvone, camphor, curcumone; fat, 3%; starch, 30%; resin; curcumin (pigment).
Pungent and bitter tasting, warming, carminative.
Improves Ch'i circulation.
Anti -contusion.
Yellow orange color comes from yellow pigment in the rhizomes called curcumin.
Believed to have antioxidant, antiinflammatory, cholesterol-lowering, and anticarcinogenic activity.
Antiinflammatory activity has been compared to topical hydrocortisone.
Antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal.

Uses
Folkloric
· Fevers, dysentery, abdominal pain, flatulence, abdominal spasm, arthritis: Decoction of rhizome as tea.
· Menstrual irregularities
· Contusions and associated painful swelling.
· Antiseptic for wounds: Crush rhizome and apply to wounds.
· Externally, rhizomes are applied to insect bites, ringworm, bleeding.
· Dosage: Decoction of 2 to 6 gms dried material.
• In India, used as antiseptic for cuts. Used for leprosy, liver problems, swelling, insect bites, wounds, whooping cough, pimples. Sweetened milk boiled with tumeric is popular as a remedy for colds and cough.
• In Ayurveda, use as stomach and liver tonic and blood purifier.
Culinary
• Condiment and coloring for food.
• In dried or powdered form, used like ginger.
New Age
· Improves Qi (chi) circulation. Chi is the basis of traditional Eastern medicine. In chinese parlance, chi means 'spirit.' In new-age speak, good health is synonymous with free-flowing energy through meridian pathways. A blocked Qi flow is associated with disease or ill-health.
Others
Approved by German health authorities for the treatment of dyspeptic complaints.
Recent uses and preparation
Wounds and swelling
Ointment: Wash the unpeeled ginger. Chop the rhizomes to fill half a glass of water. Sauté with one glass of coconut oil on low heat for five minutes. Place in a clean bottle and label.
Antiseptic for wounds: Extract juice of the fresh rhizome and apply directly on the wound or swelling.
Gas pain in adults: Decoction from thumb-sized rhizome in a glass of water reduced to half.

Studies
• Biologic Activities: An overview of the biologic activities lists in vitro anti-parasitic, anti-spasmodic, anti-inflammatory and gastrointestinal effects; also, inhibition of carcinogenesis and cancer growth. In vivo, studies show anti-parasitic, anti-inflammatory potency of curcumin and extracts in animal models.
• Anticancer: (1) Curcumin Suppresses Metastasis in a Human Breast Cancer Xenograft Model: The dietary administration to mice of curcumin and curcumin plus Taxol significantly decreased the incidence of breast cancer metastasis to the lung. The results indicate that curcumin has a potential for breast cancer therapy. (2) Study on the anticancer activity of the rhizomes of tumeric in invitro tissue culture and in vivo in mice showed cytotoxicity to lymphocytes and Dalton's lymphoma cells. The active constituent was found to be "curcumin." Results showed the tumeric extract and curcumin reduced the development of animal tumors.
• Hepatoprotective: The study suggests the ethanolic extract of C. longa has potent hepatoprotective effect against paracetamol-induced liver damage in rats and validates its use as a hepatoprotectant agent.
• Antifungal: The study on the ethanolic extracts of Curcuma longa and Alpinia galanga exhibited excellent phytotoxic activity against Lemna minor and good antifungal activities against Trichophyton longifusus.
• Antibacterial: Study showed the essential oil fraction from tumeric possesses significant antibacterial activity against pathogenic Staph aureus bacteria and suggests a potential for use of the essential oil as antiseptic in prevention and treatment of bacterial infections.
• Hypoglycemic / Hypolipidemic / Antioxidant: Study of Curcuma longa and Abroma augusta found them to be efficient antioxidants and showed significant reduction in glood glucose. Study showed the combination of herbal extracts showed better efficacy compared to individual plant extracts.
• Antioxidant: In study investigating the mechanism of free radical-induced tissue damage in inflammatory disease that involved pathogenic processes similar to periodontal disease, Curcuma longa was studied for antioxidation activity. Results showed CL to be effective protection from free radical-induced tissue damage.
• Tobacco Chewer and Chronic Smoker De-Addiction : Study showed the control arm to continue the same addiction dependency while the 63.6% of the study arm patients completely gave up smoking or tobacco chewing. 14.3% decreased smoking to <10 cigarettes per day and 10.6% of tobacco chewers decreased from 10 to < 2 times per day. The difference is statistically significant.

Caution
• Anticoagulation Concerns: Ginger may decrease thromboxane production and cause prolong bleeding time and platelet inhibition. Therefore, should be used with caution by patients receiving anticoagulant therapy.

Availability
Wild-crafted.
Essential oils and capsules from the cybermarket.