Galangal Nutritional Values and Health Benefits

Galangal Nutritional Values and
Health Benefits

Galangal [Other Names: Greater Galangal, Galangale, Galang]
Galangal (from the plant of Alpinia galanga or Languas galangal), like
ginger and turmeric, is a member of the rhizome family. Rhizomes are
knobby underground stems that are known for their pungent and
flavorful flesh. Rhizomes are not a significant source of any nutrients Â–
most especially because they are rarely eaten in great enough
quantities to constitute a serving.

The rhizome (root) of galangal resembles ginger in taste and
appearance. One serving (64 g) of galangal contains 45 calories and 2
g of dietary fiber. It is also a source of sodium, iron, vitamins A and C. It
also has some phyto-chemicals such as beta-Sitosterol, Galangin,
Emodin and Quercetin. [3] It is predominantly found in Asian markets
and sold fresh, frozen, dried, or powdered. Galangal is also well known
in European medieval cooking. Only a pinch of dried and powdered
versions are typically needed.

Galangal is frequently used in fish and shellfish recipes in combination
with garlic, ginger, chilli, and lemon.

There are three varieties of galangal- Greater Galangal, Lesser
Galangal and Kaempferia Galangal. Different galangal varieties vary in
their hotness and flavor. Flavor ranges from flowery to ginger-like to
peppery cinnamon. Greater Galangal has an orange-brown skin with
pale yellow or white interior. Greater galangal can be found in sliced
form or powder. Used as a flavoring throughout Indonesia, Malaysia,
and parts of India. Lesser Galangal has a red-brown interior and
fibrous texture. It can be founded as slices or powder. Lesser galangal
comes from China where it is used as a medicinal herb, but it is now
grown in Indonesia and regarded as a spice. It has an aromatic and
pungent, peppery and ginger-like flavor. Kaempferia Galangal has red
skin and white interior. Used as a flavoring in South East Asia.

In addition to being used as a spice in cooking, galangal has been used
in Asia and the Middle East in perfumes, snuffs, aphrodisiacs, and as
flavors for condiments (including vinegar and beer), in teas in Germany
and wines in Russia. Like ginger, galangal has been used for medicinal
purposes to treat nausea, flatulence, and dyspepsia.

When ripe, galangal should be ivory white and firm with very little
separation between skin and flesh. Never buy galangal that is wrinkled
or shriveled. Store refrigerated uncut and unwrapped for up to 3 weeks
or, peel the root and place it in a jar of sherry and store it refrigerated
for several months. Galangal can be frozen if tightly wrapped in foil.
Galangal can be sliced and used to flavor soups and stews (remove
before serving). It can also be mixed with lemon grass, chilies, shallots
and garlic into a paste that can be used to flavor rice dishes. Galangal
can also be mixed into a curry paste for similar purposes.

Potential Health Benefits of Galangal

Galangal has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities.
Researchers have proposed the benefits of galangal in certain
inflammatory conditions. Recently, Korean scientists isolated six
diarylheptanoids from the rhizome of Alpinia officinarum or galangal. All
these compounds demonstrated inhibitory activities on nitric oxide
production in lipopolysaccharide-activated macrophage cell line RAW
264.7. Furthermore, these compounds suppressed expression of the
inducible NO synthase protein and mRNA. [5] Separately, Japanese
researchers prepared 80% aqueous acetone extract of the galangal.
This extract was found to contain diarylheptanoids and galangin and it
was also able to inhibit nitric oxide (NO) production in
lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated mouse peritoneal macrophages. [6]
These findings including results from some other studies are important
to understand galangal's anti-inflammatory activities. [8, 11]

Galangal may benefit people at risk of cancer.
In a study of COR L23 lung cancer and MCF7 breast cancer cell lines, UK
researchers showed the anti-cancer activities of galangal extracts. [7]
As described in the previous section, galangal contains a flavonoid-
galangin. Galangin has shown to have anti-oxidative and free radical
scavenging activities. It modulates enzyme activities and suppresses
the genotoxicity of chemicals. [1]

Galangal also has a volatile oil. Researchers have shown this volatile oil
could enhance effectively the skin permeation of 5-fluorouracil. [4]

Galangal may have benefits of lipid-lowering.
Researchers from China found that the galangal extract could potently
inhibit fatty-acid synthase (FAS, E.C.2.3.1.85). They proposed the
inhibitory mechanism is related to the activities of the main flavonoids
existing in the galangal such as galangin, quercetin and kaempferol. [9]
While, Korean researchers showed a pancreatic lipase inhibitor, 5-
hydroxy-7-(4'-hydroxy-3'-methoxyphenyl)-1-phenyl-3-heptanone (HPH),
from the rhizome of Alpinia officinarum significantly lowered the serum
TG level in corn oil feeding-induced triglyceridemic mice, and reduced
serum triglyceride (TG) and cholesterol in Triton WR-1339-induced
hyperlipidemic mice. [8] Finally, another group demonstrated an ethyl
acetate fraction of Alpinia officinarum rhizome containing 3-
methylethergalangin was a potent lipase inhibitor in a study of
hyperlipidemic mice. [10]

Galangal may help emesis.
Japanese researchers found an ingredient of galangal has enti-emetic
activities in chicken. [2]

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PLEASE, CONSULT WITH YOUR DOCTOR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2008 ZHION.

SOURCE 5 A Day: Vegetable of the Month: Rhizomes - Ginger root, Galangal,
Tumeric
Reference: [1] Heo MY, Sohn SJ, Au WW. Anti-genotoxicity of galangin as a
cancer chemopreventive agent candidate. Mutat Res. 2001 May;488(2):135-50.
[2] Shin D, et al, Antiemetic principles of Alpinia officinarum. J Nat Prod. 2002
Sep;65(9):1315-8. [3] Luo H, Cai C, Zhang J, Mo L. Study on the chemical
components of Alpinia officinarum Zhong Yao Cai. 1998 Jul;21(7):349-51. [4]
Shen Q, Li W, Xu L. The study on Rhizoma Alpiniae officinarum and other herbs
as penetration enhancer for the permeation of 5-fluorouacil Zhong Yao Cai.
2000 Nov;23(11):697-9. [5] Lee HJ, Kim JS, Ryu JH. Suppression of inducible
nitric oxide synthase expression by diarylheptanoids from Alpinia officinarum.
Planta Med. 2006 Jan;72(1):68-71. [6] Matsuda H, Ando S, Kato T, Morikawa T,
Yoshikawa M. Inhibitors from the rhizomes of Alpinia officinarum on production
of nitric oxide in lipopolysaccharide-activated macrophages and the structural
requirements of diarylheptanoids for the activity. Bioorg Med Chem. 2006 Jan 1;
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Antioxidative compounds isolated from the rhizomes of smaller galanga (Alpinia
officinarum Hance). Biofactors. 2004;21(1-4):305-8. [8] Shin JE, Han MJ, Song
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