Zingiber zerumbet, also known as Bitter Ginger, is a plant with several health benefits and traditional medicinal uses.
Thought to originate from Asia and Australasia, along with Ginger (z. officinale) it is also identified as a “canoe plant” which accompanied Austonesian peoples as they travelled. Today it is also enjoyed in many Asian culinary dishes and utilized as a spice.
More famously, this plant is also known as Awapuhi and used in shampoos and conditioners to confer shine to hair.
There has been a recent uptick in interest due to viral video showing the flowers being squeezed for the juice inside, directly being used as a hair shampoo/conditioner.
Indeed, this plant has been used for the skin, scalp and hair traditionally, but it has a number of other traditional uses, such as the use of leaves in the baking of pork and fish, as a dye, and topically for bruises and wound-healing properties.
Specifically, Awapuhi is rich in antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory properties. It is used traditionally for boosting the immune system and aiding digestion, and for a range of other traditional uses.
Although there is a lack of clinical trials on Bitter Ginger, there have been a wide range of activities found in various preclinical studies on extracts, the essential oil or the primary constituent of interest, zerumbone, a cyclic sesquiterpene.
Through scientific investigation it has been found to have antimicrobial, antifungal, antioxidant analgesic, anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, immunomodulatory, anti-cancer, anti-angiogenic, antipyretic, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, anti-melanogenic, and gastroprotective properties.
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*This content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of such advice or treatment from a personal physician.