SIAM NATURAL™ brand

Plai Zingiber cassumunar Roxb

anti-inflammatory antispasmodic herbal body scrub treatment

Plai, Zingiber cassumunar Roxb., which is synonymous with Zingiber purpureum Roscoe, has long been regarded by Thai massage therapists as one of those oils necessary to have in their kit to combat joint and muscle problems. Plai is of the same family as ginger
(Zingiber officinale Roscoe) but has different properties and more intense actions.

Native to Thailand, Indonesia and India, a pale amber oil is steam distilled from the fresh rhizome. It has a cool, green peppery aroma
(not unlike Tea Tree) with a touch of bite. The main active chemical constituents of the oil are sabinene (27-34%), g-terpinene (6-8%),
a-terpinene (4-5%), terpinen-4-ol (30-35%), and (E)-1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)butadiene (DMPBD) (12-19%).

Plai as a poultice, decoction, & medicinal massage compound

Considered analgesic, anti-neuralgic, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antispasmodic, antitoxic, anti-viral, carminative, digestive, diuretic,
febrifugal, laxative, rubefacient, stimulant, tonic and vermifuge, it has been used for aches and pains, asthma, catarrh, chronic colds, colic,
constipation, diarrhoea, fevers, flatulence, heartburn, immune problems, inflammation, influenza, joint problems, muscle spasms, nausea,
respiratory problems, sprains and strains, torn muscles and ligaments.

ETHNOBOTANY IN UPPER NORTHEASTERN THAILAND Authors: S. Chamratpan, S. Homchuen
Some rural people residing in the villages of upper northeastern Thailand still use local plant herbs for preventing and curing many diseases.
According to the interviews from traditional healers and elders living in seven villages in three provinces of Thailand, the medicinal plants
are used in five ways – used as a rubbing or poultice, a decoction, an alcoholic tincture, a massage or eaten fresh. Rubbing is the common
application used for plants such as;

(1) slender amaranth (Amaranthus viridis) leaf is applied for removing pain, reducing swelling and pain
of insect bites, (2) crushed hophead Philippine violet (Barleria lupulina) and phaya yo (Clinacanthus nutans) are applied for herpes (ngu-swat), (3) immature dry black fruit of sugar apple (Annona squamosa) called mummy is scrubbed and externally applied on suppurated skin as an effective suppurant. Examples of the fresh ingestion or similar methods are – (1) crushed fresh Siam weed (Chromolaena odorata) leaf with alum is chewed and applied on the wound as an antidote for snake bite, (2) veld grape (Cissus quadrangularis) vine with ripe tamarind pulp is eaten for curing hemorrhoids, (3) root and vine of khruea sai tan (Aganosma marginata) is eaten to get rid of schizophrenia. An example of a decoction is khi non (Uraria crinita) which is an effective remedy for severe colon cancer. An example of massage is the mixture of Indian sarsaparilla or thao en on (Cryptolepis buchanani), derris (Derris scandens), Thai ginger (Zingiber montanum) and turmeric (Curcuma longa) are applied to paralysis. Alcoholic tincture of krachai dam (Boesenbergia rotunda) roots is used as sex-stimulant.

The essential oil exhibited a topical antiinflammatory effect when tested. Individual assessment of the topical anti-inflammatory activity of
the five major components of the Plai oil demonstrated that DMPBD, terpinen-4-ol and a-terpinene significantly inhibited oedema formation,
whereas sabinene and g-terpinene were inactive. The most active compound, DMPBD, was twice as potent as the reference drug Diclofenac
[Pongprayoon, U. et al. Topical anti-inflammatory activity of the major lipophilic constituents of the rhizome of Zingiber cassumunar. Part I: The essential oil. Phytomedicine (1997) 3 (4) 319-322].

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