Witnessed by: Unani
Shampoo ginger (Zingiber zerumbet), of the Zingiberaceae family. Reed-like herb with a stout branching rhizome and a red pine-cone flower-head that yields a fragrant sap; native range: monsoon forests of South and South-East Asia. Globally recognized as zarambad in Persian, zurunbad in Arabic, narkachur in Hindi, and wild ginger, bitter ginger, zerumbet ginger in English. The part used is rhizome. Pale aromatic rhizome, sharply pungent and camphoraceous with a bitter after-note.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
SHAMPOO GINGER
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- shampoo ginger
- Scientific name
- Zingiber zerumbet (L.) Roscoe ex Sm.
- Family
- Zingiberaceae
Form
- Part used
- rhizome
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Unani
- pungent · aromatic, bitter
Temperature
- Unani
- hot (2nd degree, dry)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- stomach · intestines · liver
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Unani
- kaasir-e-riyah (carminative), haazim (digestive), muqawwi-e-meda (stomach tonic), muhallil (resolvent), mufattih-e-sudad (deobstruent), muqawwi-e-bah (aphrodisiac), qaatil-e-deedan (anthelmintic)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- hot and bilious temperaments; internal heat and inflammation
- Toxicity
- none of note in customary dose
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