Herbs for Hepatitis (1) : Curcuma

Curcuma (Curcuma Xanthoriza Roxb), is that many types of plants found in wild under the auspices of teak and in the garden. Curcuma is members of the family Zingiberaceae. Ginger spread began to grow in low altitude to 1,500 meters above sea level with rainfall 1500-4000 mm.

A. Features morphology

This herbaceous plants is an annual, quasi-trunk, green and dark brown. High stems reach 2.5 meter. Its roots are tuberous roots of the egg-shaped (cylindrical center yellow skin and dark yellow) with the line to 6 cm in diameter. Such as ginger leaves leaf lamina that it is the mother of all bone leaves. Finger-shaped tuber (Curcuma rhizome) round such as eggs, but there is also a slightly aft usually found in the side, many around 3 - 4 pieces. Skin roots both the young and the old dirty yellow. Yellow flesh color, bitter taste, and smell the fragrance is sharp. Flower stalk with no long-range 1,5-3 cm, and the group 3 or 4.

B. Chemical Content

Roots of this plant contain the yellow pigment 1-2%, consisting of curcumin and monodesmetocsicurcumin, content about 5% essential oil, with the main components of the 1-sikloisopren mycren, b-curcumen, zanthorrhizo, germacron, felandren, sabinen, sineol, bornel, zingiberin, turmeron, atlanton, and artumeron.

c. Pharmacologists effects and properties

Part that can be used as drugs from this plant is it rhizome. Curcuma rhizome many used as a drug. In the Netherlands, curcuma recently used as a treatment plants and among the most widely pharmacy used. Curcuma rhizome (anti inflammation) and have a significant effect in improving the state of rheumatism arthritis sufferer. Extracting the roots of ginger can increase expenditure liquid bile. In high doses, ginger can reduce the rate of serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) and serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT). An experiment on the animal result shows that essential oil had cleritic, bactericide, and dissolves cholesterol in rats. Essential oil of ginger roots can be used to accelerate the production of bile (coleritik), lower cholesterol rate, eliminate pain (analgesic), lower body temperature (antipyretic), smoothing the gall to gut (kolagogum), and as antibacterial. Curcuma rhizome essential oil is also used as an ingredient of herbal medicine to cure fever, stiff rheumatic pain, rheumatism, restoring health after childbirth, constipation, flatulence, and lack of appetite. In addition, can also be used to prevent disease in the liver as hepatoprotector.