Gao Liang Jiang – Alpinia – Rhizoma Alpiniae Officinarum

Gao Liang Jiang

English Name: alpina rhizome, lesser galanga rhizome

Pharmaceutical Name: Rhizoma Alpinae Officinarum

Medica Category: Interior-Warming Herbs

Properties: Gao Liang Jiang enters the Spleen and Stomach channels; it is acrid in nature and hot in temperature.

What is Gao Liang Jiang?:

The Chinese Herb Gao Liang Jiang is the dried rhizome of lesser galangal (Alpinia Officinarum Hance.), a perennial herb in the ginger family native to Southern China. Its roots are smaller and more pungent than greater galangal (Alpinia galanga L. Willd.) and its actions and medicinal uses are somewhat different. The roots of lesser galangal are dug up in the late summer/early autumn, cleaned, and dried (but otherwise left unprocessed) for use as medicine.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Therapeutic Actions of Gao Liang Jiang:

Gao Liang Jiang warms the stomach (i.e. dispels cold) and is used to treat epigastric and abdominal fullness and pain, nausea, intestinal cramps, food stagnation, and diarrhea.