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Herb library · Spice · Alpinia galanga (greater galangal), Alpinia officinarum (lesser galangal)

Galangal

The pungent rhizome of two ginger relatives, a cooking spice and an old remedy in Chinese, Arabic, Indian and European medicine. A few small trials of extracts exist, for knee pain, alertness and sexual side effects of antidepressants; none has been confirmed.

Traditional use

Lesser galangal comes from southern China, and its Chinese name gave Europe the word galangal. Arab traders carried it west, Persians knew it by the 6th century, and it reached Indian medicine through the Arabs. It was used as a stomachic for indigestion and wind, to sweeten the breath and as an aphrodisiac, and in Russia to flavor liqueur and vinegar. Kirtikar and Basu's 1918 Indian Medicinal Plants gives its Sanskrit names kúlinjâna and dumparástma and records that the rhizome was taken as an infusion in fever, rheumatism and catarrh, and, from Mysore, that it was a household medicine much used by old people with bronchial catarrh. Culpeper wrote that it strengthens the stomach. Recent small trials have tested extracts of greater galangal for alertness and men's health.

Traditional energetics

What studies show

  • Insufficient

    Knee osteoarthritis: a 2001 randomized trial in 247 people tested an extract combining ginger and greater galangal. More people had less knee pain than on placebo (63% vs 50%), a moderate effect, but galangal's own share cannot be separated, and stomach upsets were more common.

  • Insufficient

    Alertness: a 2017 crossover study in 59 young adults, by researchers from the company that makes the extract, found a small rise in an alertness score after a greater-galangal extract. It is a single study.

  • Insufficient

    Erection problems caused by SSRI antidepressants: a 2023 trial in 60 men found higher erectile-function scores after 4 weeks of 500 mg of greater-galangal extract than with placebo. The authors call the result promising; it needs confirming.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • NoteIn the knee trial, stomach and bowel side effects, mostly mild, were much more common with the ginger-and-galangal extract than with placebo (59 people vs 21).
  • AmountThe trials used concentrated extracts for 4 to 6 weeks. Longer use of extracts has not been studied, and none of the trials looked at galangal as used in cooking.
  • InteractionThe 2023 trial gave galangal extract to men already taking SSRI antidepressants; drug interactions were not a focus of any study found. Check with your prescriber before adding an extract to your medicines.
  • PregnancyNo pregnancy or breastfeeding safety information was found in the sources used here. Talk with your clinician first.
  • Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.

From the old books

What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.

“The rhizomes of this species are aromatic, pungent, and bitter, and are used in the form of an infusion in fever, rheumatism, and catarrhal affections. As a drug, they are supposed to improve the voice.”
K. R. Kirtikar and B. D. Basu, Indian Medicinal Plants (1918), Part 2, p. 1262. See the page of Indian Medicinal Plants, Part 2, p. 1262 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Indian Medicinal Plants, Part 2, p. 1262
“Curious stories as to its source were current in those days; Haji Zein states that in Yunán a kind of hawk is said by travellers to build its nest of the roots of the Khúlanján upon the sea-shore, and that the only way of obtaining the drug is to rob these nests”
William Dymock, C. J. H. Warden and David Hooper, Pharmacographia Indica (1892), vol. 3, p. 438. See the page of Pharmacographia Indica, vol. 3, p. 438 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Pharmacographia Indica, vol. 3, p. 438
“The plant under consideration produces the “lesser galangal root” of commerce, and it is from the Chinese name for this plant that the commercial term “galangal” is derived.”
G. A. Stuart, Chinese Materia Medica: Vegetable Kingdom (1911), p. 31. See the page of Chinese Materia Medica: Vegetable Kingdom, p. 31 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Chinese Materia Medica: Vegetable Kingdom, p. 31

Sources

  1. Effects of a ginger extract on knee pain in patients with osteoarthritis (Arthritis Rheum, 2001) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. Effect of Alpinia galanga on Mental Alertness and Sustained Attention With or Without Caffeine: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Study (J Am Coll Nutr, 2017) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. Assessing the effect of Alpinia galanga extract on the treatment of SSRI-induced erectile dysfunction: A randomized triple-blind clinical trial (Front Psychiatry, 2023) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.