1. Introduction of ginger
The ginger we often eat is the rhizome of the perennial herb ginger. Ginger is a perennial herb of the genus Zingiberaceae. The plant height is generally 50-80cm. The rhizome is fleshy, plump, flat, fragrant and pungent, and the section is yellow-white. Its leaves are alternate, arranged in 2 rows, sessile, lanceolate to strip-lanceolate, apex acuminate, base narrow, leafy sheath-like clamshell, glabrous. The flower stem is upright, covered with imbricate sparse scales; the spikes are ovate to elliptic, the flowers are dense, the bracts are ovate, light green, the edge is light yellow, and there are small pointed tips at the apex; the calyx tube has 3 short sharp teeth; The corolla is yellow-green, the middle lobe of the lip is oblong and obovate, shorter than the corolla lobes, with purple stripes and light yellow spots, the lobes on both sides are ovate, yellow-green, with purple edges; stamen 1, dark purple, connective attached Body encloses style; ovary 3-loculed, glabrous, with 1 style, stigma radial and nearly spherical. Capsule oblong, swollen about 2.5 cm, with many seeds, black. The flowering period is June-August.
Ginger is harvested in autumn and winter to remove fibrous roots and sediment. There are young ginger and old ginger. Young ginger is used to make pickles, and old ginger is better for medicinal purposes.
2. The ingredients of ginger
Ginger contains pungent and aromatic components, and its pungent component is a "zingerone" in aromatic volatile oils, mainly ginger terpene, camphor terpene, water fennel, gingerol, eucalyptus oil, mucus, gingerol, Gingerene, phellandrene, camphene, citral, linalool, methylheptenone, nonanal, d-borneol, and more. The spicy component is gingerol, and when gingerol is decomposed, it becomes a mixture of oily spicy component zingerenone and crystalline spicy component gingerone and gingererone. Moreover, it also contains asparagine, pipecolic acid-2, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, serine, glycine, etc. In addition, it still contains resinous substances and starch.
3. Characteristics of ginger
First of all, in terms of morphology, ginger is an irregular massive rhizome, slightly flattened, with finger-like branches, the surface is yellowish brown or grayish brown, with links, and there are stem scars or buds at the top of the branches. Brittle, late fracture, light yellow cross-section, obvious rings in the inner cortex, scattered vascular bundles. Its smell is fragrant, and the specific taste is pungent.
Secondly, in terms of efficacy, ginger is warm in nature, and its unique "gingerol" can stimulate the gastrointestinal mucosa, congest the gastrointestinal tract, enhance digestion, and effectively treat abdominal distension and abdominal pain caused by eating too much cold food. , diarrhea, vomiting, etc. When a person has eaten ginger, the body will have a feeling of heat. This is because ginger can dilate blood vessels, speed up blood circulation, and promote the opening of pores, thereby taking away excess heat, and at the same time taking away germs and cold in the body. out. Therefore, if you feel unwell after eating cold food or being exposed to rain or staying in an air-conditioned room for a long time, eating ginger can timely eliminate various discomforts caused by cold body.