Black Ginger or Black Galangal or ‘Krachai Dum’ in Thai (Kaempferia parviflora) is an herbaceous plant belonging to the Zingiberaceae family. Since ancient times, it has traditionally been used as a health promoting, stimulating and vitalizing agent. This plant is very popular for stimulating sexual performance mostly in males and can be found in various products form currently available in the market. In Thai traditional medicine this plant is one of all popular plant, having been use for a long time.
Rejuvenation and sex enhancement
Black Ginger has many interesting properties and the one of the most interesting being sex enhancement and rejuvenation. Black Ginger contains substantial amounts of PDE5 inhibitors, which act similarly Viagra, with the ability to enhance sexual performance by increasing blood-flow to the testis and stimulating dopaminergic functions in the hypothalamus.
Furthermore, Black Ginger can increase sperm density and promote health through its Adaptogenic activity, reducing triglycerides, preventing diabetes and so on.
Chemical Constituents from Black Ginger
The chemical constituents from Kaempferia parviflora consist of 5,7-dimethoxyflavone, 5-hydroxy-3,7,4’-trimethoxyflavone and 5-hydroxy-3,7-dimethoxyflavone and major flavones compounds.
Benefits
Aphrodisiac activity (enhance sexual desire, sexual motivation and sexual performance)
Increasing sperm density and increasing condensation of lysosome in the basal part of Sertoli cells
Antiplasmodial, antifungal and mild antimycobacterial
Excellent antioxidant
Anti-inflammatory
Adaptogenic activity
Anti-allergic activity
Anticholinesterase activity (prevent and cure Alzheimer’s disease)
Anti-gastric ulcer effect
Antiobesity effects
Anxiolytic and antidepressant effects
Article originally posted at www.avaplant.com
Black ginger, the rhizome of Kaempferia parviflora (Zingiberaceae), has traditionally been used as food and a folk medicine for more than 1000 years in Thailand. The dried rhizome is generally pulverized and used as tea bags, while the fresh one is utilized to brew wine. The wine preparation is increasingly used in Thailand as a tonic and as an aphrodisiac.
As dietary supplements, it has been made into various preparations such as medicinal liquor or liquor plus honey, pills (powdered rhizome with honey), capsules and tablets. In Thai traditional medicine, black ginger has been claimed to cure allergy, asthma, impotence, gout, diarrhea, dysentery, peptic ulcer and diabetes.
A large number of recent studies have demonstrated the biological activities of black ginger extract (Kaempferia parviflora extract: KPE) and polymethoxyflavones (PMFs) including anti- oxidative activity, etc. KPE has been shown to improve physical fitness performance in clinical studies. The anti-oxidative activity of KPE has been implicated in its beneficial effects. We previously reported that PMFs in KPE increased energy production through AMPK activation induced improvements of metabolism in myocytes. For the beneficial effects of black ginger on health, we have developed a powdered black ginger extract as a healthy food ingredient and put it on the market, which is known as Black Ginger Extract that has been standardized to contain not less than 2.5% of 5,7-dimethoxyflavone and 10% of total PMFs. The healthy function of black ginger has been continuously being investigated...
Article originally posted at www.heliyon.com
A ginger extract may be able to stop psoriasis flares before they even start. A recent study, funded in part by the National Psoriasis Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, discovered that a natural molecule known as methoxyluteolin can block a type of immune cell called mast cells from launching an inflammatory response.
Mast cells are the “universal alarm cell” that starts the inflammatory cascade leading to psoriasis, according to Dr. Theoharis Theoharides, a researcher at Tufts University a co-author of the upcoming Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology study.
They can be triggered by infection, allergens, environmental factors like pollution, or even emotional stress. Once that happens, Theoharides explained, mast cells set into motion a series of inflammatory reactions, including the activation of immune cells and the release of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), a pro-inflammatory protein, or cytokine, involved in psoriatic disease.
Not only are mast cells the source for most TNF-alpha in the body, Theoharides said, it also is the only kind of cell that stores ready-made TNF-alpha that can be released in seconds.
Reducing Inflammation
He and his colleagues first identified another natural molecule called luteolin, found in chamomile and artichokes, that could block mast cells. But then they discovered that methoxyluteolin, a different version of luteolin found in Thai black ginger, was an even more potent mast cell blocker.
Through a series of experiments, they found that both luteolin and methoxyluteolin inhibited the ability of mast cells to start inflammation, and could even block inflammation when given before a trigger sets mast cells into action, as reported in the study.
But in addition to being more powerful, methoxyluteolin had two other advantages, Theoharides said. It could be easily absorbed by the skin, and it had no color—two attributes that are important for a topical treatment.
Although methoxyluteolin and luteolin can both be found in food sources, it is impossible to eat enough to get a therapeutic effect, Theoharides explained. So he developed a topical containing purified methoxyluteolin extract.
A small group of people with psoriasis and other skin disorders have already tried the lotion, trademarked as Gentle Derm, which also contains aloe vera, olive fruit extract, honey and oregano oil. So far, Theoharides said, it seems like the lotion might be a recipe for success.
Gentle Derm has yet to undergo a clinical trial. But, many of the people who tried the lotion saw improvement in their psoriasis or other skin issues after one to two weeks of daily use, according to Theoharides. He hopes to get enough funding to launch a clinical trial soon.
Article originally posted at www.nyrnaturalnews.com