358 Handbook of herbs and spices
21.1.1 Botanical notes
A. galanga (L.) Sw is a perennial, robust, tillering, rhizomatous herb; grows up to
3.5 m tall, with a subterranean, creeping, copiously branched aromatic rhizome. The
rhizomes are 2.5–10.0 cm thick, reddish brown externally, and light orange brown
internally. The aerial leafy stem (pseudostem) is erect, formed by the rolled leaf
sheaths. Leaves are 23–45 by 3.8–11.5 cm, alternate, distichous, oblong-lanceolate,
acute, and glabrous. Inflorescence terminal, erect, many flowered, racemose, 10–30
¥ 5–7 cm, pubescent; bracts ovate, up to 2 cm long, each subtending a cincinnus of
2–6 greenish white flowers; bracteoles similar to the bracts but smaller; flowers
fragrant, 3–4 cm long, yellow-white. Fruit a globose to ellipsoidal capsule, 1–1.5 cm
in diameter, orange-red to wine red.
Rhizome anatomy shows a central stele surrounded by an outer cortical zone.
Fibrovascular bundles are distributed throughout the cortex and stele. Numerous
resin canals are also present. Its chromosome number is 2n = 48. Much variability
may exist as the species occur naturally in many countries under varying agroecological
situations, however, information is lacking. Cultivars with pink to red rhizomes and
with yellow-white rhizomes are known. The pseudostems of white cultivars reach
about 3 m in height, and the rhizomes 8–10 cm in diameter. The red cultivars that are
more common and widely used, reach 1–1.5 m in height and the rhizomes 1–2 cm in
diameter. Plants with broad leaves that are tomentose beneath are distinguished as
var. pyramidata (Blume) Schuman. This occurs wild and under cultivation in Java,
Borneo and the Philippines (Scheffer and Janson, 1999).
21.1.2 Chemical notes
Tewa r i et al. (1999) reviewed the chemical composition of Alpinia spp. Galangal
rhizome on analysis yielded (per 100 g): moisture – 14 g, total ash – 9 g, matter
soluble in 80% ethanol – 49 g, matter soluble in water – 19 g, total sugar – 9 g, total
nitrogen – 3 g, total protein – 16 g, essential oil content – 0.2–1.5% (dry wt.). Fresh
rhizomes on steam distillation yield about 0.1% of oil, having a peculiar strong and
spicy odour. Earlier investigations indicated camphor, 1, 8-cineole (20–30%), methyl
cinnamate (48%) and probably d-pinene, as the oil components. Scheffer et al. (1981)
analysed a sample from Indonesia and reported 1,8-cineole (47.3%), b-pinene (11.5%),
a-pinene (7.1%), a-thujene (6.2%), terpinen-4-ol (6.0%), a-terpineol, limonene (4.3%
each) and many compounds in lesser concentrations. De Pooter et al. (1985) analysed
a sample from Malaysia and reported (E)-b-farnasene (18.2%), b-bisabolene (16.2%),
a-bergamontene (10.7%), and a-pinene (10.2%) as the important components. Charles
et al. (1992) reported that a sample from the USA yielded 52.3% myrcene, 17.15 (Z)-
b-ocimene, 9.0% a-pinene as the major components. The root contains a volatile oil
(0.5 to 1.0%), resin, glalangol, kaemferid, galangin, alpinin, etc. The active principles
are the volatile oil and acrid resin. Galangin has been obtained synthetically. The
essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation of fresh flowers contains sabinene, limonene,
1,8-cineole, p-cymen-8-ol, patchoulene, (E)-methyl cinnamate, (z)-allylcinnamate,
a-gurjunene and b-caryophyllene (Syamasundetr et al. 1999). Chaudhury (1961),
Nair et al. (1962), Barik et al. (1987) and Kumar et al. (1990) also reported chemical
studies on Alpinia.
The volatile constituents of the rhizomes and leaves of A. galanga from the lower
Himalayan region of India were analysed by GC and GC/MS. The main constituents
identified in the rhizome were 1,8-ciniole, fenchyl acetate and b-pinene. The leaf oil