The Use Of Galangal In Traditional Medicine

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Kalgan, or erect cinquefoil (Potentilla erecta) from the Pink family (Rosaceae) is a medicinal perennial herb up to 50 cm

high. It is found in forest glades, clearings or in non-arid meadows. The flowers of the galangal have a special structure - they have not five, as usual, but four petals, located opposite in pairs, resembling a cross.

People sometimes call it that - cruciferous. The rhizome is cylindrical, short, almost horizontal, woody. In folk medicine, the healing power of the galangal root is used.

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Dig up the root during the flowering period of the plant. This happens in late July - early August. When collecting, pay attention to the fact that the diameter of the stem of Potentilla erect at the entrance to the ground is 8-15 mm (overgrowth is not needed). The root can be harvested for 2-3 weeks, then it gradually loses its strength. Usually they take only the central part of it, cutting off 2 cm from the stem.

The medicinal raw materials of this plant are collected, as a rule, early in the morning, after the dew, after asking permission from the grass - whether it is possible to take it. During the evening harvest, the root "falls asleep" and cannot give up some of its beneficial properties, although more tannins accumulate in it. The morning gathering works smoother, i.e. gives a longer lasting healing effect.

After digging, the root must be washed very thoroughly, peeled from the upper skin, it can be dried or brewed immediately. You need to store galangal root dry in a cool dark place, preferably no more than a year. Over time, the plant loses its healing properties. The powder retains its strength for no more than two weeks.

The rhizome is dried only in a dark, well-ventilated place. It is constantly necessary to check that mold does not appear. An oven and dryers are not recommended, since at temperatures above + 40 ° C the plant loses some of its beneficial properties. It is best to first dry with a hair dryer, then put in a large sieve to dry from below, and take to a dark place. Before drying, you need to cut the root into pieces, because the dried root of the galangal becomes very hard, almost stone, and you cannot separate it without effort.

It is imperative to take into account the fact that recipes from herbs cannot be suitable for every person. After all, the reaction of any person, even to simple food and air, is strictly individual. Before starting herbal treatment, an allergic test must be done. Everything that you are going to use should be applied to the inner side of the wrist for 20-30 minutes.

If redness occurs, use is unacceptable! They also check for smell: if you absolutely do not like the smell of a plant, broth, powders - i.e. what you are going to apply, then you should not experiment on yourself, doing treatment or even prevention.

In folk medicine, galangal root is used taking into account a very wide spectrum of its healing properties - it is an astringent, hemostatic, bactericidal, analgesic and sedative.

For acute stomach pain or

severe diarrhea, you can bite off a piece of raw root and drink plenty of water. Dosage - for 50 kg of human weight - no more than 1 cm of fresh root. It is best to use it in turn - a diluted decoction of galangal (no more than two tablespoons) and a decoction of bird cherry (the berries should be pitted, this procedure takes a lot of time to remove them). Take at least three times a day before meals, half a glass at a time. For children, the concentration is reduced - a tablespoon of the broth is poured into 100 g of water.

Preparation of a decoction from galangal root:2 tablespoons of raw chopped or 1 tablespoon of dry chopped root are used for 1 liter of water with a temperature of about + 80 ° C. Then simmer over low heat for up to 20 minutes. Due to the abundance of iron and vitamin C, the broth takes on a brown color.

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In case of stomatitis or

bad breath, it is recommended to rinse with a clean undiluted decoction of the root.

For colds,

laryngitis - gargle.

It's good to make pills from galangal powder and carry them with you if you sometimes have

intestinal problems … To do this, flour from galangal root is mixed with honey in equal proportions and rolled into peas with a diameter of 2-3 mm. With an exacerbation of the disease, an adult should consume 4-6 peas twice a day about an hour after a meal (but not before a meal).

For the prevention of diarrhea, it is better to start with the use of two balls at a time, on the growing moon, gradually increasing to 4-6 pills. In general, you need to remember that the prevention and treatment of any gastric disorders and diseases should be started on the growing moon. And each person must choose the right dosage for himself.

With neurodermatitis

allergies and

eczemaMany are helped by this recipe: dilute the galangal broth 2-3 times and rinse the diseased skin areas in baths for 15-20 minutes at a temperature of + 37 … + 38 ° C.

With abscesses and

furunculosis, decoction lotions with the addition of garlic or onion juice help well. 1 teaspoon of juice for 2-3 liters of diluted root decoction. Juvenile acne is also well cured. Apply twice a day - best at morning and evening dawn.

With excessive sweating, wrapping with the same broth in a bath helps well. You can sprinkle galangal root powder over a pimple or boil. It is necessary to start any treatment and prevention of skin diseases and acne on the passing moon.

Against hair loss (depletion) or simply

for their shine and density, a mixture is made: 2/3 of powder and 1/3 of honey. Smear wet hair closer to the roots and wrap for 20-40 minutes. After application, the hair begins to "glow from the inside", and the lighter ones become more golden.

Hair coloring and treatment with galangal root

People noticed that after soaking linen, cotton or silk fabric in a broth of galangal (when it was necessary for medicinal purposes during wrapping), it evenly dyed in color from terracotta to wine red.

The color directly depended on the strength of the broth. As a result, people began to use a decoction of galangal root for dyeing fabrics, because the color lasted for a long time and was not lost even with several boils. Getting fabrics of beautiful reddish colors and shades, women of fashion tried to use galangal root for hair dyeing.

Galangal hair coloring recipes. For dyeing tissues and hair, the root is harvested a little later than when collecting raw materials for medical purposes. The root, harvested at the end of August, has a brighter reddish color and better colors.

Kalgan is a rather allergic plant. Remember to test the inside of your wrist before using it. Both treatment and hair dyeing are best done on the growing moon.

So, we take 2/3 of a decoction of galangal root and 1/3 of a decoction of chamomile. The result is a very beautiful color on dark hair - reddish-brown. In general, when using a decoction of galangal root, it is very difficult to predict what color you will end up with. If we guess with the proportions of the composition of the broth, how much we dilute it, then it is almost impossible to predict the natural strength of this root. It depends on the collection time and how the drying went.

But I can reassure you: I have never seen unsuccessful experiments on dark hair when dyeing it with galangal.

When freshly brewed ground coffee is added to the galangal broth, the hair becomes dark brown, darker and richer in color.

Here's another recipe: 2 tablespoons of galangal rhizome powder are mixed together with ground coffee in a 1: 1 ratio to obtain a brown color on dark hair. You can add 1 tablespoon of chopped onion skins. Then pour boiling water over this mixture until the consistency of liquid sour cream is obtained and lay on damp hair. Keep it for 20 to 30 minutes. If the hair is very dry, you can add one teaspoon of vegetable (preferably olive) oil. For normal or dry hair, it is better to take 1 egg yolk instead of oil.

The color lasts from two to three hair washes. If you paint regularly, twice a week, then each time you need to slightly reduce the amount of galangal taken, resulting in its reduction by half. After 10 procedures, it is advisable to take a break for a month.

The use of galangal root for hair coloring is not only aesthetics, but also hair loss treatment and improvement of its general condition. With constant coloring with this method, the hair looks healthy and well-groomed.

So experiment with your health

Natalia Lebedeva, herbalist