Alpinia calcarata Rosc.

Group: Monocot
Family: Zingiberaceae - Ginger family
Duration: Biennial
Growth Habit: Herb

Bangla/Vernacular Name: Soto Tara.

Tribal Name: Pley (Murang).

Description of the Plant:

A rhizomatous herb with 60-120 cm high leafy stem. Leaves 15-30 cm long, lanceolate, acuminate, glossy. Flowers large, in a dense terminal panicles, up to 13.5 cm long. Lip ovate-oblong, yellow, streaked with purple veins.

Chemical constituents:

Fresh rhizome yields essential oil (0.2%), which contains galangol, kaempferide, galangin and its methyl ether, camphor, cineole, methyl cinnamate, monoterpenes of a- and ß-pinene and limonene and sesquiterpenes. Constituents present in the rhizome include kaempferide, galangin and alpinin. Rhizome also contains glycosides, proteins, carbohydrates, resins, steroids, triterpenes and minerals. Seeds contain anti-ulcer principles, l-acetoxychavicol acetate, loacetoxyeugenol acetate, caryophyllene oxide, caryophyllenol I and II, pentadecane and fatty acid methyl esters.

An anti-microbial diterpene has been isolated from the rhizome (Ghani, 2003). The major component of the oil from Bangladeshi plants is a-fenchyl acetate (51.4%). Other notable new compounds are a-terpineol, carotol, camphene and D- limonene (Chowdhury et al., 2003).

Mode of Uses:

Leaf and root extract is taken in paralysis. In addition paste of leaves and root applied to affected areas (Murang).

Distribution:

Occationally cultivated.