| HABIT : perennial herb |
| HABIT : Aromatic perennial herb; root stock cylindric. |
| STEM : Leafy stem to 2 m high, many. |
| LEAVES : Leaves 40-65 x 8-13 cm, oblong-lanceolate, apex acute, base cuneate; petiole c. 5 mm long; ligule 6-7 mm long. |
| INFLORESCENCE : Inflorescence terminal on the leaf shoot, dense-flowered; peduncle densely pubescent. |
| FLOWERS : Flowers c. 4 cm long, shortly pedicellate; bracts 2-2.5 x 0.5-0.8 cm, membranous; bracteoles c. 1.5 cm long. Calyx c. 1 cm long, cylindrical, split on one side, greenish-white. Corolla tube c. 1.2 cm long, greenish-white; lobes unequal, spreading, pubescent. Labellum c. 2 cm long, white, with a few oblique, lilac lines on either side of the midrib on the upper surface, base clawed, margins wavy, apex emarginate. Lateral staminodes 4-5 mm long, subulate. Anther 6-8 mm long; filament 1.2-1.5 cm long. Epigynous glands 2. Ovary 3 mm long, ellipsoid. |
| FRUIT : Fruit 1 cm across, globose, orange-red. |
| FLOWERING AND FRUITING TIME: April-December. |
| A. galangal is useful against lumbago, rheumatic pains, sore throat, pain in the chest, diabetes, tubercular glands, diseases of the kidney, bronchitis and catarrhal affections. |
| It is mainly utilized in the treatment for digestion and a quick reliever of pain, especially angina, heart attack and gall bladder attacks and effects as a reliever of heart pain. |
| Its effects on dyspepsia and as a digestive aid are elaborated. |
| Several recent studies with this flavonoid suggest that it may have a potent anti-cancer effect, specifically through inhibition of the detoxification enzyme CYP1A1 and modulation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor. |
| Galangin has also been shown to be a potent preserver of the endogenous free radical scavenger glutathione, thereby playing another anti-carcinogenic role. |
| Galangin also exerts a strong inhibitory effect on the cyclo-oxygenase family of enzymes; this provides a strong cardioprotective effect by inhibiting the aggregation of platelets, as well as providing a consistent systemic anti-inflammatory effect. |
