Galangal
Galanga; Hildegard’s galgan
- Known today as
- The rhizome of lesser galangal, Alpinia officinarum.
- Kind
- Plant, in 1 older authority
- Constituents
- 1,8-cineole, galangin, 1’-acetoxychavicol acetate, and 1 more
- Earliest authority here
- Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179)
- Qualities
- Hot and dry (Galenic tradition). What the degrees mean
- In other databases
- Plants of the World Online search · GBIF search · Wikidata search
Galangal: what was it used for?
A warming spice of the Arabic and medieval pharmacy, for the stomach and the heart.
Galangal: what does modern science say?
Warming and carminative; no clinical evidence for the heart.
Pharmacognosy & Toxicology
- Constituents
- 1,8-cineole ChEMBL
- galangin ChEMBLa flavonol
- 1’-acetoxychavicol acetatein greater galangal
- gingerolssmall amounts
- Mechanism
- A ginger relative: the pungent principles warm by activating TRPV1, the capsaicin receptor, and stimulate gastric secretion; galangin is an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory in cells.
- Toxic dose
- Safe as a spice.
- Standing
- In the German tradition (Commission E) for dyspepsia; a spice of Southeast Asian cooking.
- Blumenthal, M., ed. (1998). The Complete German Commission E Monographs, “Galangal.” Standard reference work
- Chouni, A., and Paul, S. (2018). “A review on phytochemical and pharmacological potential of Alpinia galanga.” Pharmacognosy Journal 10. Verified against its record · doi:10.5530/pj.2018.1.2
Constituent names open the compound’s record at PubChem, and “ChEMBL” beside a name opens its record at ChEMBL, the European Bioinformatics Institute’s database of bioactive molecules. Where a mechanism line was checked against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37, read 1 October 2026), the check is shown with the measured value and its source paper, or says plainly that nothing has been measured. Doses are as the references give them, for description only; this is not medical advice. Each source carries the result of its check against Crossref, PubMed, or the authority’s page: see Verification.
Galangal: what did the older authorities say?
- Hildegard of Bingen
- Commends galangal above other spices, especially for pains of the heart.
Sources
- Hildegard of Bingen, Physica. Book, seen in reviews
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026
- Passes
- Every sentence read against its sources, in the fifty-entry sample
- The Standing line checked against the authority it names (EMA, WHO, FDA, CITES, Commission E)
- Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
- Sources
- 3 cited: 1 verified against its record, 1 standard reference work, 1 book, seen in reviews.
- Corrections
- None were needed.
What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.
Cite This Entry
Version 1 · first published September 25, 2026
- Chicago
“Galangal.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified September 25, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/galangal.
- MLA
“Galangal.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 25 Sept. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/galangal. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
- APA
Galangal. (2026, September 25). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/galangal
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See Also
Sharing 1,8-cineole, gingerols
Laurus nobilis · Elettaria cardamomum · Mint, oil of · Artemisia abrotanum · Diatrion piperion
Also in Hildegard of Bingen
Hop in Hildegard of Bingen · Tansy in Hildegard of Bingen · The precious stones in Hildegard of Bingen · everything Hildegard of Bingen names →
Drawing on the same sources: Blumenthal
Of the same qualities: hot and dry
Garlic · Frankincense · Honey · Elecampane · Hyssop · Cumin · what the degrees mean →
Nearby in the alphabet
Galbanum (Gum resin of Ferula gummosa) · Funeral bell (A small brown mushroom of rotting wood) · Gallia moschata (made into troches of aloeswood, ambergris, and musk) · Fu ling (the sclerotium of a fungus that grows on pines) · Gamboge (yellow as egg yolk) · Friar’s balsam (storax, balsam of tolu, and aloes, in spirit)
Historical description, not medical advice.