Acta Pharm. 53 (2003) 73-81

Analysis of the essential oils of the leaves, stems, rhizomes and roots of the medicinal plant Alpinia galanga from southern India

LEOPOLD JIROVETZ^1*, GERHARD BUCHBAUER¹, MOHAMED POTTACHOLA SHAFI ²  and  NEETTIYATH KALATHIL LEELA³

leopold.jirovetz@univie.ac.at

¹Institute of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
²Department of Chemistry, Calicut University, Kerala 673 635, India
³Indian Institute of Spice Research, Marikunnu, Calicut, Kerala 673 012, India

The essential oils of the leaves, stems, rhizomes and roots of the medicinal plant Alpinia galanga from southern India were investigated by GC-FID, GC-MS and olfactometry. In all four samples, mono- and sesquiterpenes as well as (E)-methyl cinnamate could be identified. They are responsible for the characteristic odor as well as for the reported use in (folk) medicine and in food products of A. galanga. The essential oil of A. galanga leaves is rich in 1,8-cineole (28.3%), camphor (15.6%), beta-pinene (5.0%), (E)-methyl cinnamate (4.6%), bornyl acetate (4.3%) and guaiol (3.5%). The stem essential oil contains 1,8-cineole (31.1%), camphor (11.0%), (E)-methyl cinnamate (7.4%), guaiol (4.9%), bornyl acetate (3.6%), beta-pinene (3.3%) and alpha-terpineol (3.3%). 1,8-cineole (28.4%), alpha-fenchyl acetate (18.4%), camphor (7.7%), (E)-methyl cinnamate (4.2%) and guaiol (3.3%) are the main constituents of the rhizome essential oil. The root essential oil contains alpha-fenchyl acetate (40.9%), 1,8-cineole (9.4%), borneol (6.3%), bornyl acetate (5.4%) and elemol (3.1%).
In addition, biological and aroma effects of the main and minor compounds of the four essential oils of Alpinia galanga are discussed in terms of their possible use in medicine, cosmetics and foods.

Keywords: Alpinia galanga (Zingiberaceae), essential oils, leaf, stem, roots, GC, GC-MS