Nar Kachoor | Kapoor Kachri | Zedoary | کپور کچری | نرکچور

Botanical Name(s): Curcuma Zedoaria
Popular Name(s): White Turmeric, Nar Kachur
Family Name: Zingiberaceae
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Zingiberaceae
Genus: Curcuma
Species: C. zedoaria
Parts Used: Rhizomes

Zedoary, also known as white turmeric, is a rhizome with a thin brown skin and a bright orange, hard interior. Its smell is similar to that of turmeric and mango. The perennial herb has a warm-spicy, woody and camphoraceous cineolic odor and bears yellow shiny flowers, with red and green bracts. The ovate leaves possess purple-colored spots and are 1 to 2 feet long, narrowing at the base. The fruits are triangular and ovate in shape while the seeds are oval or spear shaped.

Traditional methods for preparing zedoary involve washing it with lots of water to remove most of the protein and water-soluble nutrients. The rinsing is also supposed to remove a poison that is yet to be identified.

Zedoary is used for colic, spasms, loss of appetite, and indigestion. Some people also use it for anxiety, stress, fatigue, and pain and swelling (inflammation).

Zedoary is sometimes applied directly to the skin to keep mosquitoes away.
Zedoary plant is native to Asia and Indonesia. However, it is widely used as a spice in the West today. It is also found in sub-tropical regions of eastern Nepal. Because of its mango-like fragrance, zedoary is called amb halad in many Indian languages (amb means mango). Some other common names are "nar kachur" in Hindi, karchur in Sanskrit, shatkachuro in Gujarati and Meitei Yaingang in Manipuri.

• Since zedoary is anti-inflammatory, its paste is used on inflammation, wounds, skin ailments and pain.
• The herb serves as a body stimulant and purifies blood.
• It is very effective in treating respiratory disorders, tones up uterus and works as an aphrodisiac agent.
• Zedoary improves digestion, improves liver condition and normalizes body temperature.
• The herb, when taken in powdered form, helps in regularizing menstruation.
• In the juice form, it is used to treat urine-related disorders and urinary tract infections.
• Zedoary is used as a gastro-intestinal stimulant in flatulent colic and prevents stress ulceration as well.
• It helps in curing dyspepsia, colic, vomiting and cough.
• The herb proves useful in case of abdominal cramps, amenorrhea-abdominal pain and rheumatic pain. It is also used in anti-periodic pills.
• Zedoary is used as anti-venom for the Indian Cobra.
• It is used in the manufacture of liquors, stomach essences, bitters, perfumes and cosmetics.
• In India, the herb is either cooked fresh or used in preparing pickles. In Indonesia, it is ground to paste and used in curries.