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.