Introduction

Plants consists numerous biologically active compounds which are produced during the plant metabolic processes. These chemicals are referred as “phytochemicals or secondary metabolites”. The natural phytotherapeutic constituents are identified from plants can be derived from leaves, stems, roots, fruits, rhizomes, bark, flowers and seeds etc (Gordon, 2001). The phytotherapeutic effects of plant materials are unique to the particular plant species and its medicinal effects are outstanding to the combination of secondary product present in the plant (Uddin & Rauf, 2012). Due to dearth of allopathic treatment with contemporary amenities in developing countries, 60% population of the world in the still depending on plants for treating diseases. Around 80% of the human population is following their traditional or Ayurvedic medicine.

Curcuma amada (C.amada) is a rhizomatous aromatic herb belongs to the species of Curcuma genus and the family of Zingiberaceae. It is commonly known as mango ginger. C. amada is from east Indian origin. It has been extensively employing in food industry and alternative medicines. It has a popular spice and vegetable due to its rich flavor, which is described as sweet with subtle earthy floral and pepper overtones and similar to that of raw mango. Like other members of Curcuma genus, C.amada also has kind of therapeutic properties. The root contains an essential oil and pungent principles. It strengthens the stomach and digestive system, is carminative and expectorant. It gives relief in digestive complaints such as abdominal gas problems, constipation, colic, indigestion, bad breath, stomach pain, loss of appetite, wind, indigestion and hiccups. It effectively reduces and cures bronchitis, asthma and cough internally. The external application of mashed and grated root of C.amada is useful in the treatment of sprains, wounds, bruises and ulcers.

Ethnobotanical claims of Curcuma amada

In the present review the above mentioned plant material is used to evaluate the phytochemical constituents, antimicrobial, biological properties and value added products. C.amada was originated in the Indo-Malayan region and distributed widely in the tropics from Asia to Africa and Australia. It is usually found in Sri lanka, Bangladesh and South and east asian countries. It also found in the wild parts of West Bengal, and is cultivated in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and the north-eastern states of India.

The maximum height of plant is 1m length. The leaves are long, oblong, lanceolate, radical, sheathed, petiolate and in tufts. Rhizomes are fleshy, buff coloured, 5–10 cm long, 2–5 cm in diameter and demarcated into nodes and internodes, rhizomes have raw mango flavour and taste pungent. Flowers are huge, elongated with 4–5 flowers in respective branch. They grow well in fertilized wetlands and partially shaded areas too. Sunlight is essential for plant growth. Healthy rhizome or seed is preferred for planting. The cultivation area must be dug deeply well before monsoon. Even it grows well in sandy loam soil also. The Preferred whether condition for the plant is hot and humid with high rainfall. Semi shaded and open conditions are best cultivation method for plant growth.

Phytochemical screening of Curcuma amada

The preliminary phytochemical analysis was done in various rhizome extract of C.amada and depicted in Table 1. From Table 1 it was concluded that, chloroform, ethanol, methanol and distilled water extracts were gave good results for terpenoid, cardiac glycosides and gum (Singh et al., 2015) positive results for tannins in ethanol, methanol and distilled water (Singh et al., 2015). (Kaur et al., 2018)revealed the presence of carbohydrates, saponins, glycosides, phytosterols, resins, and flavonoids in rhizome extracts. From Table 1 can conclude the rhizome extract of C.amada exhibited optimistic results for maximum therapeutic chemical constituents.

Curcuminoids in C.amada

The main active ingredient in turmeric is known as curcumin. It has better antioxidant and anti- inflammatory properties. Curcuminoids are known as polyphenolic a pigment which includes curcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin. Curcumin is the primary curcuminoid in turmeric and the compound for which most studies have been done. Three major curcuminoids were present in acetone extract of C.amada (Gupta, Gupta, & Kumar, 1999). Figure 1 illustrated the structure of curcumin, demothoxycurcumin, bismethoxycurcumin present in C.amada.

Volatile compounds in C.amada

Volatile oils otherwise known as essential oils which are derived from plants are used for aromatherapy, a form of alternative medicine in which healing effects is attributing to aromatic compounds. Leaves of C.amada containing some volatile compounds which were shown in Table 2. These essential oils are used in aromatherapy to induce relaxation, but still there is no adequate proof that essential oils can effectively treat any condition (Padalia et al., 2013).

Pharmacological properties of C.amada

C.amada is a potent anti-microbial and other biological activity. Table 4; Table 3 articulated the biological importance of C.amada in various extracts.

In Table 3 , medicinal plant showed evidence of antimicrobial activity by different mechanisms. This can be achieved by the inhibition of cell wall synthesis, interference with the permeability of cell membrane, cause membrane disruption, modifying cellular constituents, and cell damage or cell mutation (Achika & Ndukwe, 2016). The methanol, ethanol and hexane extract of the plant showed maximum inhibitory effect on gram positive and gram negative bacteria (Rao, Kl, Md’almeida, & Rai, 2017). The in vitro antimicrobial activity of the C.amada rhizome extracts showed highly active against harmful bacteria and fungi. These results may helpful to find a route of antimicrobial treatment by replacing allopathic drugs.

From Table 4; Table 3 C.amada is a potent anti-microbial and anti-oxidant, being helpful in treat skin problems. It really helpful to detoxify the body and improves skin tone. C.amada being anti-inflammatory is also useful in treating inflammations due to injury, liver inflammation, arthritis and rheumatism. It has been found that mango ginger contains anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. Various phytochemicals and bioactive constituents were reported in mango ginger rhizome. They were effective for various biological activities such as anti-cancer, anti-microbial, anti-depressant, anti-tubercular and platelet aggregation inhibitory roles. It also revealed the effects on relieving pain and itching, also helps to cure the metabolic problems. It is an analgesic and expectorant which is often used to provide relief from cold and cough. Enterokinase found in mango ginger which improves digestion process in humans and animals. This enzyme breaks down the proteins into organic compounds which are easier to digest. Its root detoxified the body and promotes digestive strength.

Value added products and culinary uses of mango ginger

(Balestra, Cocci, Pinnavaia, & Romani, 2011) formulated the bread containing mango ginger powder. They also examined the rheological properties, physical properties, total phenolics content, radical scavenging activity and sensory analysis of the supplemented bread were determined. From the rheological reports of 3% bread with mango ginger powder revealed doubled antioxidant activity when compared to control bread and other studied samples. (Crassina & Sudha, 2015) repared soup sticks using mango ginger powder instead of wheat flour. Researcher also examined the nutritional characterization of the soup sticks in terms of protein and starch in vitro digestibility, dietary fiber, minerals, polyphenols and antioxidant activity were determined using standard methods. Addition of gluten powder, potassium bromated and glycerol monostearate improved the texture and baking strength in soup sticks. The total dietary fiber and antioxidant activity of the soup sticks having 10 % mango ginger powder increased from 3.31 to 8.64 % and 26.83 to 48.06 % respectively as compared to the control soup sticks. As he concluded from his work, the mango ginger powder in soup sticks improved the nutritional profile.

In Indonesia, young shoots or young top rhizomes are consumed raw or cooked. Trantjam recipe was prepared by mixing coconut with rhizomes of mango ginger. Rhizomes are used in South India for making pickles also make chutneys in north India. The flower clusters are cooked in steam and consumed with rice. Raw or boiled rhizomes are preferred making pickles, candy, preserves salad, sauce and in meet.

Conclusion

In recent years, many possible sources of natural antibiotics have been in use for several infectious diseases. Considering the high costs of the synthetic drugs and their various side effects, the search for alternative products from plants used in folklore medicine is further justified. C.amada emerges to be vastly potential and had remained unexplored for their bioactive phytochemicals. The available literature on phytochemicals and biological properties and pharmaceutical activities are very impressive. It is an important constituent of numerous industrial applications that sort from food to cosmetics to pharmaceutical products. Thus this plant could be utilized as an alternative source of useful synthetic drugs. Very fewer information is existing on the aerial parts of the plant. Further studies are needed to isolate, characterize and elucidate the structure of the bioactive compounds of this plant for antimicrobial drug formulation.

Conflict of Interest

None.

Funding Support

None.