Ginger is an herbaceous annual plant that can grow in low-lying areas or in the mountains with an altitude up to 1,700 meters above sea level. This herbal plant actually originated from India, then spread to other tropical regions.
Ginger is included in Zingiberaceal tribe, one family with other herbs such as Cucuma Xanthorrizha, Cucuma Aeruginosa, Cucuma domestica, Kaempteria galanga, galanga Lenguas, and others.
There are three kinds of ginger plants based on shape, color and aroma that is: big white ginger (Zingiber officinale var), small white ginger (Zingiber officinale var amarum), and red ginger (Zingiber officinale var rubrum).
Stem ginger is a pseudo stem, composed of leaves, slender shape, round, and rather soft. Ginger plants grow upright and form clumps. The leaves of this herb in pairs of two-two sword-shaped lines are arranged in two criss cross, dark green colored leaves with younger bone clearly visible. Flowers out of the ground surface, which emerged from the side rhizome roots when plants are old enough. Color yellowish white flowers.
The roots of this herb rhizome-shaped, aromatic, and spicy. Rhizome like horns, forked meetings, the long round, round a bit short. Dirty brown outer skin. If the roots are cut, it was meat rhizomes are yellow, while red ginger (Zingiber officinale var rubrum), red, flavorful ginger typical sharp and somewhat spicy.
This kind of herbal plant is one of the important spices. Rhizome of the ginger is very widely used, such as spices, giving aroma and flavor in foods such as bread, cake, biscuit, confectionery and various beverages. Ginger is also used in industrial medicine, perfume and traditional herbal medicine. Young ginger eaten as vegetables, processed into pickles and pickle. In addition, because it can give effect to heartburn, the ginger is also used as an ingredient.
Other characteristic of ginger caused by volatile oil and ginger oleoresin. Fragrant aroma of ginger is caused by essential oils, while oleoresin cause some stinging. On attrition oil contained gingerol, zingiberol, zingiberin, camphor, and cineol. The main components of ginger essential oils that cause the smell is fragrant and zingiberol zingiberin Essential oils can be obtained or isolated by steam distillation of dried ginger rhizome. Extracts of ginger oil as a liquid until thick greenish yellow, fragrant but do not have the fundamental building blocks of spicy flavor. Ginger essential oil content in about 0.5% to 5.6%.
Ginger oleoresin contains a lot of spicy flavor-forming component which does not evaporate. The components in ginger oleoresin consists of gingerol and zingiberen, shagaol, essential oils and resins. Spicy flavoring in ginger is gingerol major. Additionally, ginger contains starch or starch about 20% to 60%, resins, and organic acids.
This herb is used as a spice in cooking especially efficacious to increase appetite, strengthen the stomach, improve and aid digestion, help remove intestinal gas and help the heart function.This is possible because the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines stimulated by essential oils of ginger rhizome issued.Ginger contains digestive enzymes are protease and lipase, which digests each protein and fat.
Oil of ginger contains gingerol a typical aromatic ginger, efficacious to prevent and treat nausea and vomiting, such as motion sickness or in young pregnant women. This is because this herb is able to block serotonin, a chemical that can cause the stomach to contract, causing nausea
In traditional Asian medicine, ginger is used to treat colds, coughs, diarrhea and bone diseases such as arthritis arthritis. Ginger is also used to enhance the cleansing of the body through sweat.
