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Botany
Tall, leafy, perennial
herb, growing to 2 to 3 m tall. Stems are reedlike, 0.4 to 1 m high.
Leaves are lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 60-70 cm long, 8 - 10 cm
wide, smooth on both sides with hairy margins. Inflorescence is nodding
and about 30 cm long. White calyx is subcampanulate, about 1.8 cm long.
Corolla tube is white and about 3 cm long; the red lobes are broadly
elliptic, and about 3 cm long. Lip is broad, ovate and about 4 cm long,
yellow with red striations and dots. Capsule is somewhat spherical,
about 2 cm in diameter and reddish.
Distribution
Widely cultivated in Philippine
gardens.
Constituents
Alpinia zerumbet is aromatic
in all its parts.
The main constituents of the volatile oil from the leaves are d-camphor
(30%) and d-camphene (17%), with lineol and limonene in smaller amounts.
Seeds contain 0.51% essential oils comprised of monoterpenoids, oxygenated
monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, oxygenated sesquiterpenoids, aldehydes,
acid and esters.
Properties
Considered analgesic, antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-platelet, antispasmodic, diuretic, hypotensive, muscle relaxant, uterine stimulant.
Parts
used and preparation
Stems, leaves.
Uses
Folkloric
• Decoction
of leaves used as bath and wash in fevers.
• In Brazilian
folk medicine, used as decoctions and infusions for intestinal and cardiovascular
disease – as a diuretic, antihypertensive, antiulcerogenic.
Cooking / Nutrition
In Ambonia,
leaves are used as wrappers in cooking rice.
In Malaysia, the pith
of the young stem near the rhizome is commonly eaten.
Studies
• Antihypertensive
/ Cardiovascular Effects: Study
showed the intravenous treatment with the essential oil of A zerumbet
and its main constituent terpine-4-ol in the experimental hypertensive
rat decreased blood pressure giving further support to a previous hypothesis
of its hypotensive effect partially attributable to the actions terpenene-4-ol.
• Antinociceptive:
Study showed the
essential oil of Alpinia zerumbet promoted a dose-dependent antinociceptive
effect through a mechanism that probably involves the participation
of opiate receptors.
• Sciatic
Nerve Effect: Study
of the essential oil of AZ on rat sciatic nerve showed significantly
reduced compound action potential.
• HDL
/ Lipid Benefits: Study
showed the high contents of rutin, quercetin and polyphenolics in ethanolic
extract of AZ seeds exhibited moderate antilipoperoxidative and potent
DPPH free radical scavenging activities. Both seed powder and seed oil
are effective hypolipidemics with potent HDL-C elevating capabilities
and offers a promising lipid-benefiting plant medicine.
• Flavonoids
/ Kava Pyrones: Study
yielded flavonoids and kava pyrones. The flavonoids rutin, kaempferol-3-0-rutino-side,
kaempferol-3-O-glucuronide, (+)-catechin (-)-epicatechin are
substances known to contribute hypotensive, diuretic and anti-ulcer
activity while the kava pyrones have been attributed antiulcer and antithrombotic
benefits. These compounds may explain the use of the plant in the treatment
of hypertension.
• Antihypertensive
/ Vasodilator: Study
showed chronic administration of AZ induced significant reduction of systolic, mean, and diastolic arterial pressure in rats with DOCA-salt hypertension. The vasodilator effect is probably dependent on the activationn of NO-cGMP pathway. The results provide experimental support for its use as an antihypertensive medicinal plant.
Availability
Wild-crafted. |
