Menu  → Scientific information on crude drugs  → 
Curcuma Rhizome
Curcuma Rhizome
文朮
Market name:文朮
Photo location:Museum of Materia Medica, Inst. of Nat. Med.
TMPW No.:4588
Curcuma zedoaria
Plant name:Curcuma zedoaria
Photo location:Kagoshima Pref., Japan
Photo date:1995
Photographer:K. Komatsu

Synonym  
Latin name Curcumae Rhizoma
Botanical source: Family name Zingibereceae
Botanical source: Plant name Curcuma zedoaria Roscoe (IPNI:872393-1)
Part used Rhizome
Empirical criteria for quality selection Good one is large, fat and fresh. The inside is dense (NI).
Constituents Monoterpenoids:
1,8-Cineole, 1,4-Cineole, α-Pinene, d-Camphene
d-Camphor, d-Borneol

Sesquiterpenoids:
Zingiberene, Furanodiene, Curdione, Isofuranogermacrene, Isocurzerene, Dehydrocurdione, Curzerenone, Zederone, Curcolone, Curcumol, Curcumenol, Procurcumenol, Curcumadiol, Germacrone, Furanogermenone, (4S,5S)-(+)-Germacrone 4,5-epoxide, Zedoarol, 13-Hydroxygermacrone, Curzeone, Curcumenone
Pharmacological effects Vasorelaxing and anti-inflammatory effect
Indications As an aromatic stomachic, stimulant, carminative, painkiller and for inducing menstruation, it is applied to treat indigestion, gripe, menopause and other dysfunction.
Diseases Intra-abdominal tumor, Amenorrhea, Menorrhalgia, Hyperemesis after childbirth, Swelling and pain due to contusion, Abdominal pain, Full stomach, Nausea, Vomitting, Cancer
Formulas jofuto
Meridian tropism Liver, Spleen
Property Warm
Flavor Bitter, Acrid/pungent
Classification in "Shen-non Ben-cao Jing"  
TCM: Classification Drugs for invigorating blood circulationt
TCM: Medicinal effects To promote the flow of qi and eliminate blood stasis, distention and pain due to stagnation of undigested food.
Used for mass in the abdomen, amenorrhea due to blood stasis, distention and pain due to stagnation of undigested food, and carcinoma of cervix at early stage.
Remarks Listed in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia 18th ed.
In China, the underground part of genus Curcuma is divided into rhizome and tuber. They are named differently. The rhizome of C.phaeocaulis Val. is called Pengezhu (Ezhu, Wenzhu) and its tuber is called Lusiyujin. The rhizome of C.kwangsiensis S. G. Lee et C. F. Liang is called the following: the whole rhizome is called Wenezhu, the one which is cut longitudinally is called Pianjianghuang and the tuber is called Wenyujin. Their respective production areas are Sichuan Prov., Guangxi Prov. Zhuangzu Autonomous Region and Zhejiang Prov. The Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China lists these three rhizoma as Ehzu. In Japan, They are cultivated in Kagoshima, Okinawa and other prefectures. Most of them are used as an ingredient for domestic medicine. The nomenclature is C. zedoaria Roscoe according to The Japanese Pharmacopoeia. Nomenclatures of Ehzu are complicated. In China, C. zedoaria Roscoe, C. caesia Roxburgh and C. aeruginosa Roxburgh have been applied as nomenclatures of Ehzu. But they were renamed as C. phaeocaulis Val. in 1989, since it became clear that they were not appropriately named in terms of the color of the rhizome and the flower bud. In Japan, Chinese ehzu is commonly used as a crude drug. Therefore, the quality depends on the original plant.
References NI: N. Isshiki, Methods of Quality Evaluation and Preparation of Wakan-yak, Tohodo Shoten, Tokyo, 1987.
DNA sequences of medicinal plants
Gene Region
Nuclear Chloroplast Mitochondria
Botanical source: Plant name 5Ss 18S ITS1 5.8S ITS2 26S others trnH-psbA matK trnK trnK-rps16 trnT-L trnL trnL-F rbcL rpoC1 ndhF others
Curcuma phaeocaulis Valeton (IPNI:872383-1)
Curcuma zedoaria Roscoe (IPNI:872393-1)
trnS-trnfM
 AB370939
 AB370942
 AB370940
 AB370943
 AB370941
rpoB2
  EU492366
accD
  EU492369
rpoC-like
  EU492375
Curcuma kwangsiensis S.G.Lee et C.F.Liang (IPNI:872373-1)
petA-psbJ
 JF730287
psbK-psbI
 GU180471
 GU180468
 GU180469
 GU180470
rpoB
 GU180561
 GU180562
 GU180563
 GU180564
 

TOPICS

Information on genetic analysis

Metabolism information on chemical compounds included in crude drugs

Traditional Medical & Pharmaceutical Database


Section of Pharmacognosy,
Division of Medicinal Resources,
Department of Research and Development,
Institute of Natural Medicine,
University of Toyama
2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194 Japan
TEL: +81-76-434-7601
FAX: +81-76-434-5064