View source for Alpinia galanga

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Maranta galanga Ypey51.jpg
|image2 =Gardenology.org-IMG 7562 qsbg11mar.jpg
|genus = Alpinia
|species = galanga
|authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) [[Carl Ludwig Willdenow|Willd.]]
}}

'''''Alpinia galanga''''',<ref name="Duke2002">{{cite book |last1=Duke |first1=James A. |last2=Bogenschutz-Godwin |first2=Mary Jo |last3=duCellier |first3=Judi |author4=Peggy-Ann K. Duke |title=Handbook of Medicinal Herbs |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8AJkBmPDRUUC |access-date=1 March 2011 |edition=2nd |year=2002 |publisher=CRC Press |location=Boca Raton, Florida |isbn=978-0-8493-1284-7 |page=350}}</ref> a plant in the [[Zingiberaceae|ginger family]], bears a [[rhizome]] used largely as an [[herb]] in [[Unani medicine]] and as a [[spice]] in [[Arab cuisine]] and [[Southeast Asian cuisine|Southeast Asian cookery]]. It is one of four plants known as "[[galangal]]". Its common names include '''greater galangal''', '''lengkuas''', and '''blue ginger'''. <!--Its Latin name is Alpinia galanga.-->

==Names==
[[File:Alpinia galanga.jpg|thumb|180px|left|''A. galanga'' [[rhizome]]s]]
The name "galangal" is probably derived from [[Persian language|Persian]] ''qulanjan'' or [[Arabic language|Arabic]] ''khalanjan'', which in turn may be an adaptation of Chinese ''gao liang jiang''. Its names in North India are derived from the same root, including ''kulanja'' in [[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]], ''kulanjan'' in [[Hindi language|Hindi]], and ''kholinjan'' in [[Urdu language|Urdu]].<ref name="Peter">{{cite book |editor1-first=Peter |editor1-last=K. V. |title=Handbook of Herbs and Spices |edition= 2nd Edition) |date=2012 |publisher=Woodhead Publishing |volume=2 |isbn=9781845697341}}</ref>

The name "lengkuas", on the other hand, is derived from [[Malay language|Malay]] ''lengkuas'', which is derived from Proto-[[Western Malayo-Polynesian]] ''*laŋkuas'', with cognates including [[Ilokano language|Ilokano]] ''langkuás''; [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]], [[Bikol languages|Bikol]], [[Kapampangan language|Kapampangan]], [[Visayan languages|Visayan]], and [[Manobo language|Manobo]] ''langkáuas'' or ''langkáwas''; [[Aklanon language|Aklanon]] ''eangkawás''; [[Kadazan Dusun language|Kadazan Dusun]] ''hongkuas''; [[Ida'an language|Ida'an]] ''lengkuas''; [[Ngaju Dayak language|Ngaju Dayak]] ''langkuas''; and [[Iban language|Iban]] ''engkuas''. Some of the names have become generalized and are also applied to other species of ''[[Alpinia]]'' as well as for ''[[Curcuma zedoaria]]''.<ref name="blusttrusell">{{cite journal |last1=Blust |first1=Robert |last2=Trussel |first2=Stephen |title=The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary: A Work in Progress |journal=Oceanic Linguistics |date=2013 |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=493–523 |doi=10.1353/ol.2013.0016 |s2cid=146739541 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265931196}}</ref>

''Alpinia galanga'' is also called ''laos'' in [[Javanese language|Javanese]] and ''laja'' in [[Sundanese language|Sundanese]]. Other names include ''romdeng'' (រំដេង) in [[Cambodia]]; ''pa de kaw'' (ပတဲကော) in [[Myanmar]]; ''kha'' in [[Thailand]]; ''nankyō'' (ナンキョウ, 南姜) in [[Japan]]; and ''hóng dòu kòu'' (紅豆寇) in [[Mandarin Chinese]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kays |first1=Stanley J. |title=Cultivated Vegetables of the World: A Multilingual Onomasticon |url=https://archive.org/details/cultivatedvegeta00kays |url-access=limited |date=2011 |publisher=Wageningen Academic Publishers |isbn=9789086861644 |page=[https://archive.org/details/cultivatedvegeta00kays/page/n60 60]}}</ref> In [[Telugu language | Telugu]] it is called "పెద్ద దుంపరాష్టము" or "పెద్ద దుంపరాష్ట్రము". In [[Tamil language|Tamil]] it is known as a "பேரரத்தை or பெரியரத்தை" ("Pae-reeya-ra-thai"), widely used in [[Siddha Medicine]] and in culinaries. In Sri Lanka it is known as ''Araththa'' (අරත්ත).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.instituteofayurveda.org/plants/plants_detail.php?i=1344&s=Family_name|title = Ayurvedic Plants of Sri Lanka: Plants Details}}</ref>

==History of domestication==
Lengkuas is native to South and Southeast Asia. Its original center of cultivation during the [[spice trade]] was [[Java]], and today it is still cultivated extensively in Island Southeast Asia, most notably in the [[Greater Sunda Islands]] and the [[Philippines]]. Its cultivation has also spread into [[Mainland Southeast Asia]], most notably [[Thailand]].<ref name="Hoogervorst2013">{{cite book|first1=Tom|last1=Hoogervorst|editor1-first=Satish|editor1-last=Chandra|editor2-first=Himanshu|editor2-last=Prabha Ray|title =The Sea, Identity and History: From the Bay of Bengal to the South China Sea|chapter =If Only Plants Could talk...: Reconstructing Pre-Modern Biological Translocations in the Indian Ocean|publisher =Manohar|year =2013|pages=67–92|isbn =9788173049866|chapter-url =http://www.sealinksproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Hoogervorst-2013-If-only-plants-could-talk.pdf}}</ref><ref name="Ravindran2004">{{cite book
|last1=Ravindran |first1=P.N. |last2=Pillai |first2=Geetha S. |last3=Babu |first3=K. Nirmal |editor1-first=K.V.|editor1-last=Peter|title =Handbook of Herbs and Spices|volume=2|chapter =Under-utilized herbs and spices|publisher =Woodhead Publishing|year =2004|isbn =9781855737211}}</ref> Lengkuas is also the source of the leaves used to make ''nanel'' among the [[Kavalan people]] of [[Taiwan]], a rolled leaf instrument used as a traditional children's toy common among [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesian cultures]].<ref>{{cite thesis |type=PhD |last=Cheng |first=Lancini Jen-Hao |date=2014 |title=Taxonomies of Taiwanese Aboriginal Musical Instruments|publisher=University of Otago|url=https://ourarchive.otago.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10523/5687/ChengLanciniJ2015PhD.pdf?sequence=5&isAllowed=y}}</ref>

== Description ==
The plant grows from [[rhizome]]s in clumps of stiff stalks up to {{convert|2|m}} in height with abundant long leaves that bear red fruit.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Alpinia galanga - Plant Finder |url=https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=287591 |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=www.missouribotanicalgarden.org}}</ref> It is an evergreen perennial.<ref name=":0" /> This plant's rhizome is the "galangal" used most often in cookery. It is valued for its use in food and [[traditional medicine]]. The rhizome has a pungent smell and strong taste reminiscent of citrus, [[black pepper]] and [[Pine|pine needles]]. Red and white cultivars are often used differently, with red cultivars being primarily medicinal, and white cultivars primarily as a [[spice]].<ref name="Hoogervorst2013"/><ref name="Ravindran2004"/> The red fruit is used in [[traditional Chinese medicine]] and has a flavor similar to [[cardamom]].

== Culinary uses ==
[[File:Flickr preppybyday 4711943668--Tom kha gai.jpg|thumb|''Tom kha kai'', a Thai dish|alt=|271x271px]]
The rhizome is a common ingredient in [[Thai curry|Thai curries]] and soups such as ''[[tom kha kai]]'', where it is used fresh in chunks or cut into thin slices, mashed and mixed into [[curry paste]]. 

It is also traditionally fermented with honey to produce the wine known as ''[[byais]]'' among the [[Mansaka people]] of the [[Philippines]].<ref name="Garcia">{{cite journal |last1=Garcia |first1=Ian Rav |title=Back in Maragusan |journal=Mindanao Times |date=28 February 2019 |url=http://mindanaotimes.com.ph/2019/02/28/wanderlust-back-in-maragusan/}}</ref>

== Traditional medicine ==
[[File:Alpinia galanga (L.) Willd.jpg|thumb|180px|''Alpinia galanga'' (L.) Willd.]]
Under the names 'chewing John', 'little John to chew', and 'court case root', it is used in [[African American]] [[folk medicine]] and [[Hoodoo (folk magic)|hoodoo]] folk magic.{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}} 
In [[Unani medicine]] 'A.Galanga' is called as 'Khulanjan' and its actions and uses have been mentioned in many unani classical literatures like Al qanun fittib [[The Canon of Medicine]], maghzanul mufradath etc. It is considered as Muqawwi qalb (cardiac tonic), mufarreh, munaffise balgam, muqawwi meda, muqawwi bah etc. Its used in [[Asthma]], cough, sore throat  and other illnesses. Famous unani drug preparations with Khulanjan as an ingredient include Habb e Jadwar, Jawarish Jalinus, Jawarish Ood shirin etc.

Ayurveda considers ''A. galanga'' (Sanskrit:-''rasna'') as a Vata Shamana drug. <!--encyclopedic? Rasnerandadi kashayam,Maharasnadi Kashayam,Rasnadi Choornam are a few among the classical Ayurvedic Medicinal Preparations. -->  Known as [[:ta:பேரரத்தை|பேரரத்தை]] (''perarathai'') in Tamil, this form of ginger is used with licorice root, called in Tamil ''athi-mathuram'' (''[[Glycyrrhiza glabra]]'') as folk medicine for colds and sore throats.{{citation needed|date=December 2014}}

==Chemical constituents==
''Alpinia galanga'' rhizome contains the [[flavonol]] [[galangin]].<ref>{{cite journal | pmid = 21046987 | year = 2010 | last1 = Kaur | first1 = A | last2 = Singh | first2 = R | last3 = Dey | first3 = CS | last4 = Sharma | first4 = SS | last5 = Bhutani | first5 = KK | last6 = Singh | first6 = IP | title = Antileishmanial phenylpropanoids from Alpinia galanga (Linn.) Willd | volume = 48 | issue = 3 | pages = 314–7 | journal = Indian Journal of Experimental Biology}}</ref>{{clear left}} The rhizome contains an oil known as ''galangol'', which upon [[fractional distillation]] produces [[cineol]] (which has medicinal properties), [[pinene]], and [[eugenol]], among others.<ref>{{Cite book|year=2010 |publisher=Association of Southeast Asian Nations |author1=Rasadah Mat Ali |author2=Zainon Abu Samah |author3=Nik Musaadah Mustapha |author4=Norhara Hussein |title=ASEAN Herbal and Medicinal Plants |page=29 |isbn= 978-979-3496-92-4 |url=http://www.asean.org/uploads/archive/publications/aseanherbal2010.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170612173850/http://www.asean.org/uploads/archive/publications/aseanherbal2010.pdf |archive-date=12 June 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Lesser galangal]]
*[[Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* [http://gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com/engl/Alpi_gal.html Greater galangal]
* Scheffer, J.J.C. & Jansen, P.C.M., 1999. Alpinia galanga (L.) Willd.[Internet] Record from Proseabase. de Guzman, C.C. and Siemonsma, J.S. (Editors). PROSEA (Plant Resources of South-East Asia) Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. [http://www.proseanet.org]

==External links==
{{Wikispecies|Alpinia galanga}}
* [http://libproject.hkbu.edu.hk/was40/detail?lang=en&channelid=1288&searchword=herb_id=D00506 Alpinia galanga (L.) Willd.] Medicinal Plant Images Database (School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University) {{in lang|zh-hant}} {{in lang|en}}

{{Herbs & spices}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q402971}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Alpinia|galanga]]
[[Category:Spices]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants of Asia]]
[[Category:Austronesian agriculture]]