Etlingera elatior


Etlingera elatior , ගොඩ නෙලුම් , සිද්ධාර්ථ , 火炬姜, Indonesian tall ginger, boca de dragón, rose de porcelaine, and porcelain rose') is a species of herbaceous perennial plant. Botanical synonyms include Nicolaia elatior, Phaeomeria magnifica, Nicolaia speciosa, Phaeomeria speciosa, Alpinia elatior, and Alpinia magnifica.
The showy pink flowers are used in decorative arrangements, bunga kecombrang, are an important ingredient across Southeast Asia. In North Sumatra, the flower buds are used for a stewed fish dish called Arsik ikan mas. In Bali, people use the white part of the bottom part of the trunk for cooking chilli sauce called "Sambal Bongkot", and use the flower buds to make chilli sauce called "Sambal Kecicang". In Thailand, it is eaten in a kind of Thai salad preparation.
In Karo, it is known as asam cekala, and the flower buds, but more importantly the ripe seed pods, which are packed with small black seeds, are an essential ingredient of the Karo version of sayur asam'', and are particularly suited to cooking fresh fish.

Chemistry

From the leaves of E. elatior, three caffeoylquinic acids, including chlorogenic acid, and three flavonoids, quercitrin, isoquercitrin and catechin, have been isolated. Content of CGA was significantly higher than flowers of Lonicera japonica, the commercial source. A protocol for producing a standardized herbal extract of CGA from leaves of E. elatior has been developed, compared to commercial CGA extracts from honeysuckle flowers.

Gallery

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