''Etlingera elatior'' (also known as torch ginger, ginger flower, red ginger lily, torch lily, wild ginger, ''combrang, bunga kantan'', Philippine wax flower, ගොඩ ඕලු (goda olu), ගොඩ නෙලුම් (goda nelum), සිද්ධාර්ථ (siddartha), 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'',
[Riffle, Robert Lee (1998). ''The tropical look: an encyclopedia of dramatic landscape plants'', Timber Press, , p. 167] ''Phaeomeria magnifica'',
''Nicolaia speciosa'', ''Phaeomeria speciosa'', ''Alpinia elatior'', and ''Alpinia magnifica.''
The showy pink flowers are used in decorative arrangements, ''bunga kecombrang'', and are an important ingredient across Southeast Asia. In North Sumatra (especially among the Karo people (Indonesia), Karo people), the flower buds are used for a stewed fish dish called ''Arsik ikan mas'' (Andaliman/Szechuan pepper-spiced carp). 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 Malaysia, the flower is an essential ingredient in cooking the fish broth for a kind of spicy sour noodle soup called "''Asam Laksa''" (AKA "''Penang Laksa''"), in the preparation of a kind of salad called ''Kerabu'' and many other Malay dishes''.'' The fruit is also used in Indonesian cooking.
In Batak Karo language, Karo, it is known as ''asam cekala'' (''asam'' meaning 'sour'), 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 Asem, sayur asam'', and are particularly suited to cooking fresh fish. In Sundanese language, Sundanese, it is known as ''Honje''.
Chemistry
From the leaves of ''E. elatior'', three caffeoylquinic acids, including chlorogenic acid (CGA), and three flavonoids, quercitrin, isoquercitrin and catechin, have been isolated.
[Chan, E.W.C. (2009). “Bioactivities and chemical constituents of leaves of some ''Etlingera'' species (Zingiberaceae) in Peninsular Malaysia”. Ph.D. thesis, Monash University, 305 p., http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/149589 ] Content of CGA was significantly higher than flowers of ''Lonicera japonica'' (Japanese honeysuckle), the commercial source.
A protocol for producing a standardized herbal extract of CGA from leaves of ''E. elatior'' (40%) has been developed, compared to commercial CGA extracts from honeysuckle flowers (25%).
Gallery
Similar species
* ''Alpinia galanga''
* ''Curcuma longa''
* ''Etlingera fulgens''
* ''Etlingera maingayi''
* ''Kaempferia galanga''
See also
*Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3442435
Etlingera, elatior
Taxa named by Rosemary Margaret Smith