Galangal
Parts Usually Used
Rootstock
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Galangal is a perennial plant; the creeping rootstock is cylindrical and branched, ringed with the leaf sheaths of the past, rust brown or red outside, and gray-white and mealy inside. Its odor and taste are reminiscent of its relative, ginger. Aside from the basal leaves, procumbent stems also bear linear-lanceolate leaves as well as white flowers growing in racemes. During flowering, the plant reaches 3-5 feet in height.
Where Found
Found wild and cultivated in China, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, and Iran.
Medicinal Properties
Appetizer, carminative, diaphoretic, sialagogue, stimulant.
Biochemical Information
Essential oil including cineole, methyl cinnamate, eucalyptol, eugenol, pinene, cadinene; flavonoid comprised of galangin, kaempferide, alpinin; galangol
Legends, Myths and Stories
Lovers of the Middle Ages (not middle-aged lovers) used galangal as an aphrodisiac. Galangal is a peppery, aromatic, and gingery flavored root spice that was popular many centuries ago, but apparently does not suit most modern tastes. In Europe galangal is used to flavor vinegar, beer, aperitifs, and liqueurs. A 1525 herbal recorded the use of galangal; used as a catarrh snuff (powdered form) and as a cattle medicine.
It is said that Arabs use this botanical to make their horses fiery. Used to spice a Russian liqueur, known as “Nastoika”. Tartars flavor their tea with a pinch of this root.
Uses
In traditional herbalism, galangal was utilized for digestive complaints, including nausea, motion sickness, flatulence, indigestion, and flatulent colic. Practitioners also recommended it for hot flashes, menstrual cramps, and suppressed menstruation, while folk traditions credited the root with the ability to stimulate circulation and ease spasms. Herbalists traditionally prepared hot teas or tinctures of the plant to induce perspiration or combined it with laxative herbs to moderate their action.
At the onset of colds, the herb was historically administered to address common symptoms, and chewing the raw rootstock was recommended to encourage salivation and soothe the throat. Externally, grated galangal was applied as a poultice or hot fomentation for aches, sprains, and muscle spasms.
Bibliography
American Folk Medicine , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973 Culpeper’s Complete Herbal & English Physician: Updated With 117 Modern Herbs , by Nicholas Culpeper, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1990, (reprint of 1814) The Herbalist Almanac , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1988, fifth printing, 1994 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY.
copyright 1974. , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , Copyright 1988, published 1992 The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023