Lesser Galangal Root Alpinia officinarum.

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History of Galangal:Lesser Galangal.

Lesser Galangal Root Extract CAS Galangin 548-83-4 Alpinia officinarum Extract Radix Galangae photo picture image Medicinal Properties:have no well-defined medicinal use,although they have been advocated for many of the disorders that are treated with ginger. In Germany, herbalists use lesser galangal for dyspepsia biliary symptoms, bowel spasm and angina.

 Historical View Alpinia officinarum:Galangal is an aromatic stimulant like ginger.It was formerly much employed by the Arabians and Greeks, and was used to some extent in this country, but it has now become obsolete here?

 Attributed Medicinal Properties:Resembling ginger in its effects, galangal is an aromatic stimulant, carminative and stomachic. It is used against nausea, flatulence, dyspepsia, rheumatism, catarrh and enteritis. It also possesses tonic and antibacterial qualities and is used for these properties in veterinary and homeopathic medicine. In India it is used as a body deodorizer and halitosis remedy. Both galangals have been used in Europe and Asia as an aphrodisiac for centuries. Gerard (1597) says: "they conduce to venery, and heate the too cold reines (loins)".

 Galangal (Alpinia officinarum) is an ancient and highly revered medicinal agent in Ayurvedic, Traditional Chinese and Thai folk medicine. This botanical cousin to Ginger was recognized to be the superior in many ways and has been employed in medicine for over a thousand years. It has a pungent, hot and spicy taste with an aromatic, ginger-like odor. In traditional Chinese Medicine it is said to "warm the middle" and alleviate pain, being especially good for abdominal pain, vomiting, hiccups and diarrhea. It is also recognized as a powerful dispersing agent with analgesic properties that make it an appropriate and effective intervention for rheumatic pains and other inflammatory disorders.
 Lesser Galangal Root Extract CAS Galangin 548-83-4 Alpinia officinarum Extract Radix Galangae photo picture image

 The use of this amazing plant in the western world can be traced back to before its mention by the great mystic Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179). Hildegard referred to galangal as "the spice of life" and a potent aid to digestion and a quick reliever of pain, especially angina, heart attack, and gall bladder attacks. In her classic treatise "Physica", she writes, "whoever has heart pain and is weak in the heart should instantly eat enough galangal, and he or she will be well again." Physicians in Germany who have taken up the modern practice of Hildegard Medicine have reported that galangal is as effective as nitroglycerine in relieving the constrictive heart pain of angina, without any side effects. These same physicians comment that it was Hildegard's mystical vision that first introduced the world to galangal's effects as a reliever of heart pain.

 In 1898, galangal root was included in King's American Dispensatory where its effects on dyspepsia and as a digestive aid are elaborated. In addition to these actions Felter and Lloyd consider it a specific agent to relax the perineum and reduce the pain of hemorrhoids. Maude Grieve includes it in her classic text, "A modern Herbal" in 1931 where she considers galangal a stimulant and carminative, especially useful in flatulence, dyspepsia, vomiting and stomach sickness of any kind, including sea-sickness. She describes it as toning the tissues and often being useful in fevers, like most of our diaphoretic agents. She also comments on its use in cattle medicine and by the Arabs to make their horses fiery.

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citations1.Lesser Galangal Root Alpinia officinarum.

last edit date:21th,May.2009.