A Review on Phytochemical and Pharmacological Potential of Alpinia galanga

Introduction: From the ancient Vedic era, green plants are being used for their medicinal properties to treat several diseases. Green plants represent a big source of bioactive compounds. Alpinia galanga (Linn.) of Zingiberaceae family is one amongst those medicinally important plants. Different parts of the plant are used in the treatment of many diseases for its anti-fungal, anti-tumour, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, antioxidant, antiulcer and many other properties. Several active compounds such as 1’S-1’-acetoxychavicol acetate, 1’S-1’-acetoxyeuginol acetate, 1, 8-cineol, α-fenchyl acetate, β-farnesene, β-bisabolene, α-bergamotene, β-pinene, β-Sitosteroldiglucoside (AG-7), β-sitsterylArabinoside (AG-8), 1’-acetoxychavicol acetate (galangal acetate), p-hydroxycinnamaldehyde has been extracted from the plant. Methods: Relevant information was collected from scientific journals, books, and reports via electronic search using Medline, PubMed, Science Direct and Scopus. Results: This review provides a comprehensive report on Alpinia galanga having anti-proliferative, apoptotic, anti angiogenic as well as cytotoxic efficacy and their mode of action in vitro as well as in vivo condition. Conclusion: Considering the ability of the golden treasure present in Alpinia galanga, this review is aimed to summarize the information of the chemical constituents, pharmacological and therapeutic effects of the plant.