black galingale

Names and Synonyms

Common Names

• black galingale

Scientific Names

Accepted name

Synonyms

• Kaempferia rubromarginata
• Stahlianthus rubromarginatus

Sources: Wikidata, Catalogue of Life

Taxonomical Classification

This plant belongs to the kingdom Plantae and the phylum Streptophyta, falling under the class Equisetopsida and subclass Magnoliidae. Within the order Zingiberales, it is classified under the family Zingiberaceae. Ultimately, its taxonomic identity is defined by the genus Kaempferia, specifically the species parviflora.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Distribution

This plant is native to several distinct regions across Southern and Southeast Asia. Within the Indian Subcontinent, its presence has been documented in Bangladesh. Moving into the Indo-China region, it can be found growing in Cambodia. Its distribution also extends to the country of Myanmar. Finally, this medicinal species is commonly located throughout Thailand.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Botanical Identification

Life history

The life history of Kaempferia parviflora is characterized by its classification as a geophyte, a survival strategy that relies on specialized underground storage organs to endure unfavorable environmental conditions. This plant maintains its life cycle through a perennial rhythm, utilizing thickened rhizomes situated beneath the soil surface to store essential nutrients and water. During the favorable growing seasons, the plant emerges from these rhizomes to produce foliage and reproductive structures, but during periods of dormancy or environmental stress, it retreats into its subterranean state to protect its vital tissues. This geophytic habit allows the species to persist in tropical forest understories, where it can effectively manage seasonal fluctuations by remaining dormant until optimal moisture and temperature levels trigger new vegetative growth.

Life form :

geophyte

Morphology

The morphology of Kaempferia parviflora is characterized by its growth habit as a terrestrial herb, functioning as an independent organism that does not rely on a host, thus being neither a parasite nor an epiphyte. It possesses a rhizomatous structure that allows it to grow in a self-supporting manner, lacking any climbing mechanisms such as tendrils or twining stems that would categorize it as an obligatory or facultative climber. Instead, the plant maintains a low-growing, prostrate form where the leaves emerge close to the soil surface, supported entirely by its own structural integrity within its terrestrial habitat.

Climber :

self-supporting

Epiphyte :

terrestrial

Parasite :

independent

Sources: Global Inventory of Floras and Traits (GIFT)

Plant Parts

Kaempferia parviflora has 3 reported plant parts identified across 12 scientific publications and several other databases that are studied for medicinal purposes. The most consistently reported plant part include rhizome, leaf, stem.

Rhizome

1. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
2. Journal of ethnopharmacology
3. Nutrition and cancer
4. Die Pharmazie
5. Journal of the science of food and agriculture

Leaf

1. Chemistry & biodiversity
2. Metabolites

Stem

1. Chemistry & biodiversity

Chemicals

Kaempferia parviflora has 30 reported phytochemicals identified across 12 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported chemicals include 5,7-Dimethoxyflavone, 3,5,7-Trimethoxyflavone, 5-Hydroxy-7-methoxyflavone, Flavonoids, 3,7-Dimethoxy-5-hydroxyflavone.

5,7-Dimethoxyflavone

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology
2. Die Pharmazie
3. Journal of advanced pharmaceutical technology & research
4. PloS one
5. Chemistry & biodiversity

3,5,7-Trimethoxyflavone

1. International journal of molecular sciences
2. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)
3. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
4. Chemistry & biodiversity

5-Hydroxy-7-methoxyflavone

1. Die Pharmazie
2. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
3. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)

Flavonoids

1. Plant foods for human nutrition (Dordrecht, Netherlands)
2. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
3. Chemistry & biodiversity

3,7-Dimethoxy-5-hydroxyflavone

1. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)
2. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

5,7,4'-Trimethoxyflavone

1. International journal of molecular sciences
2. MedComm

5-hydroxy-3,7,3',4'-tetramethoxyflavone

1. Phytotherapy research : PTR
2. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

CAMPHENE

1. Journal of advanced pharmaceutical technology & research
2. Scientific reports

Linalool

1. Journal of advanced pharmaceutical technology & research
2. Scientific reports

3,4',5,7-tetramethoxyflavone

1. Chemistry & biodiversity

Activities

Kaempferia parviflora has 4 reported activities identified across 12 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported activities include Antioxidant, Antifungal, Antibacterial, Antimalarial.

Antioxidant

1. Preparative biochemistry & biotechnology
2. Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP
3. Chemistry & biodiversity

Antifungal

1. Preparative biochemistry & biotechnology
2. Journal of the science of food and agriculture

Antibacterial

1. Preparative biochemistry & biotechnology

Antimalarial

1. Journal of the science of food and agriculture

Medicinal Uses

Kaempferia parviflora has 22 reported medicinal uses identified across 12 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported uses include oxidative stress, Alzheimer disease, H5N1 virus, abscesses, acne.

Most Reported Uses

Preparations