Spices such as turmeric, ginger, cardamom, and galangal are not only delicious kitchen commodities – they’re formidable natural remedies. All of the Zingiberaceae plant family, they’ve been prescribed for millennia in Ayurveda, Chinese, and Unani medicine to cure a range of ailments from digestive issues to inflammation.
This article examines the most recent science evidence demonstrating how these plants act in the body. They are filled with bioactive chemicals like curcumin (turmeric), gingerols (ginger), cineole (cardamom), and galangin (galangal), which are antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anticancer, heart-protective, and supportive to digestion.
Examples:
- Turmeric suppresses inflammation and oxidative stress, maintaining joints and the liver healthy.
- Ginger calms nausea, enhances digestion, and is able to relieve arthritis pain.
- Cardamom is also good for heart health, digestion, and even the lungs.
- Galangal is an antimicrobial and metabolism supporting spice.
Although phytochemicals from these plants are useful, part of the biggest issue is that most of them cannot be absorbed well by the body, so their impact relies on dosage and preparation. Scientists emphasize there needs to be more clinical trials to find out exactly how such spices can be converted into useful medicines and supplements.
In short: these spices are ancient remedies bolstered by modern science, and have vast potential for the development of new natural pharmaceutical and nutraceutical agents.
Full text: M. Matin, R.K. Singla, A. Jó źwik, J.O. Horbańczuk, N. Ksepka, K. Wysocki, T.P. Ijinu, N.M. Krishnakumar, …, A.G. Atanasov, Health-promoting and medicinal properties of Zingiberaceae family plants: A minireview with a special focus on galangal, turmeric, cardamom, and ginger, Current Research in Biotechnology (2025), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crbiot.2025.100329.