Scientific Name Curcuma zedoaria Rosc.
Family Zingiberaceae
Used Part Rhizome
Distribution Area A species growing wild in eastern Himalayas and in the moist deciduous forests of the coastal tract of Kanara.
Common Uses . The tubers are rich in starch. The Shoti Starch of commerce is a product extracted form the tubers and used as a substitute for arrowroot and barley. It is highly valued as an article of diet, especially for infants and convalescents. It is cooling and demulcent, and is often made into confections. A red powder, Abir, is prepared from powdered rhizomes by treatment with a decoction of sappan wood. The rhizome possesses stimulant and carminative properties. A decoction of the rhizome administered along with long pepper, cinnamor and honey, is beneficial for colds. In indigenous medicine, it is prescribed as a stomachic. It has a local effect on the digestive organs similar to, but milder than, ginger and has been occasionally employed as a gastro-intestinal stimulant in flatulent colic.
Similar crude drugs C. zedoaria closely resembles C. longa in appearance.
Curcuma zedoaria Rosc. is highly valued as an article of diet, especially for infants and convalescents. in Himalayan region
