 Botany
Kaempferia rotunda has rhizomes that resemble those of Kaempferia galanga. Leaves are oblong and stained underneath. Spikes are radical, appearing before the leaves. Flowers are fragrant, sessile, purplish white. Calyx is 1-leafed, as long as the tube of the corolla, somewhat gibbous, with the apex generally two-toothed, with a dotted purplish color. Upper segments of the inner series of the corolla are lanceolatew and acute, the lower ones divided into two broad obcordate lobes.
Distribution
Of recent introduction as an ornamental.
Cultivated throughout the world.
Constituents
- On distillation, rhizomes yield 0.2% essential oil of light yellow color, with an unpleasant odor, similar to camphor and later, of tarragon oil.
- Oil contains cineol.
- Plant yields flavonoids, crotepoxide, chalcones, quercetin, flavonols, B-sitosterol, stigmasterol, syringic acid, protocatechuic acid and hydrocarbons.
- Study yielded three new cyclohexane diepoxides together with crotepoxide and (-)-zeylenol from the rhizomes of K. rotunda.
Properties
- Rhizomes are cooling and diuretic.
- Reported poisonous nature of the rhizome juice when administered internally for throat affections, producing profuse salivation and vomiting.
Parts used
Rhizomes.
Uses
Culinary
In Java, rhizomes and young leaves used to flavor food.
In Malaysia, leaves are eaten fresh or cooked as vegetables; also, used for flavoring.
 Folkloric
Rhizomes use internally for gastric complaints.
Externally, rhizomes used with coconut oil as a cicatrizant.
Rhizomes used in mumps, for bruises and wounds.
Oinment made from the powder used for healing wounds.
Rhizomes used as diuretic.
Juice of rhizomes used as resolvent of phlegm, of dropsical afflictions of the hands and feet, and for joint effucions.
In India, powdered roots used for mumps; as poultice, used for suppurations.
Others
Cosmetics: Rhizomes and leaves used in making cosmetic powders.
Studies
• Antioxidant: (1) The antioxidant property of the extract was compared with the standard antioxidant ascorbic acid. The scavenging of radicals by the methanol extract of K rotunda correlates with the antioxidant potential of the plant with a potential to control age-dependent diseases such as myocardial infarction, diabetes, atherosclerosis, cancer, etc. (2) Study showed the chloroform extract of rhizomes of K. rotunda showed significant scavenging effect of DPPH free radicals.
• Essential Oils: Study on the volatile constituents of the rhizomes showed the most abundant constituents to to be benzyl benzoate, n-pentadecane, and camphene.
• Insecticidal: Extracts from rhizomes of K rotunda and Z cassumunar, incorporated into artificial diets displayed significant insecticidal activity against neonate larvae of the pest insect Spodoptera littoralis. Rhizomes of K rotunda yielded two active metabolities - crotepoxide and benzyl benzoate. Benzyl benzoate exhibited insecticidal activity only when applied locally.
• Antimicrobial / Larvicidal / Antioxidant / Chemical Constituents: In a study of 4 medicinal plants, K rotunda was shown to yield five pure compounds - crotepoxide, tetracosanoic acid, benzoic acid, stigmasterol and p-sitosterol. The major constituent of the essential oil was benzyl benzoate. Extract showed activity against tested microbes (P aeruginosa, S typhimurium, B subtilis), moderate antioxidant activity, and some larvicidal activity.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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