BACKGROUND The fruits and seeds of Alpinia galanga (L.) Willd., Alpinia katsumadai Hayata, Alpinia zerumbet (Pers.) Burtt. & Smith, Amomum kravanh Pierre ex Gagnep., Amomum subulatum Roxb., Amomum tsao-ko Crevost et Lemaire, and Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton from Alpinia, Amomum, and Elettaria genera in the Zingiberaceae family are difficult to distinguish between each other. This study aims ...

Extracts from 11 plant species belonging to the Zingiberaceae were tested for antifungal activity using disc diffusion bioassays. Extracts from several members, especially Alpinia galanga, Curcuma zedoaria and Zingiber purpureum, were found to have pronounced inhibitory activities against a wide variety of human pathogenic fungi, including strains resistant to the common antifungals amphoterici...

Essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation and two different solvent extractions (petroleum ether and ethanol) from five Zingiberaceae species: ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe.), galanga (Alpinia galanga Sw.), turmeric (Curcuma longa L.), kaempferia (Boesenbergia pandurata Holtt.) and bastard cardamom (Amomum xanthioides Wall.) was characterized. Volatile components of all extracts were ana...

Hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts (100 microg/ml) of Alpinia galanga rhizomes exhibited significant activity in vitro against promastigotes of L. donovani. Twelve compounds namely, methyleugenol (1), p-coumaryl diacetate (2), 1'-acetoxychavicol acetate (3), 1'-acetoxyeugenol acetate (4), trans-p-acetoxycinnamyl alcohol (5), trans-3,4-dimethoxycinnamyl alcohol (6), p-hydroxybenzaldeh...

The new compounds 2-methyl-6-isopropyl-7-hydroxymethyl naphthalene (1), oxyphyllenone H (2), epi-oxyphyllenone (6), (E)-labda-12,14-dien-15(16)-olide-17-oic acid (3), and two new natural products 4 and 5 were isolated from the ethyl acetate part of 95% ethanol extract of Alpinia oxyphylla, together with six known compounds 7-12. The inhibitory effects of compounds 1-12 on α-glucosidase were eva...

Alpinia pricei (Zingiberaceae) is a spicy herb indigenous to Taiwan. A potent anti-inflammatory compound, flavokawain B (FKB), was obtained from A. pricei. FKB significantly inhibited production of NO and PGE(2) in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. Moreover, it also notably decreased the secretion of TNF-alpha. Expression of iNOS and COX-2 proteins was also inhibited by FKB in a dose-dependent manne...

BACKGROUND We investigated the potential of galangal rhizomes to induce cytotoxic and apoptotic effects in the cultured human breast carcinoma cell line, (MCF-7) in compare with the non-malignant (MRC-5) cells. METHODS Both cells were cultured in DMEM medium and treated with galangal rhizomes for three consecutive days. The percentage of apoptotic cells was determined by flow cytometry using ...

In the present work, the antiobesity effects of ethanol extract of Alpinia galanga rhizomes was evaluated in cafeteria diet fed obese rats. Obesity was induced in albino rats by feeding cafeteria diet daily for 6 weeks in addition to normal diet. The extract was administered at a daily dose of 400 mg/kg orally for 6 weeks. Body weight was measured initially and then every week thereafter. Indiv...

The use of natural antimicrobial agents is garnering attention due to consumer and producer awareness of health problems. This study found that the essential oil of A. galanga had strong bactericidal activity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. The bactericidal action of A. galanga oil was extremely rapid. Results of scanning electron microscopy observations suggested that A....