Shampoo Ginger

Shampoo Ginger

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.  

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