Curcuma wenyujin

Curcuma wenyujin

Curcuma wenyujin is a protected geographical indication product.

　　[Source] The rhizome of Curcuma wenyujin Y.H.Chen et C.Ling, a plant in the Zingiberaceae family (also known as warm curcuma or black curcuma).

　　[Medicinal Material] Warm curcuma is oblong-ovate, ovate, or spindle-shaped, measuring 4–8 cm in length and 2.5–4.5 cm in diameter. It has a long pointed tip and an acute or blunt base. The surface is grayish-brown to dark brown, rough, with raised nodes on the upper part and sunken fibrous root scars at the base. Bud scars and lateral rhizome scars are not prominent, but knife-cut marks are visible. It is hard and heavy, with a fractured surface that is yellowish-brown or yellowish-gray, horny in texture, and shows dot-like or streak-like vascular bundles.

　　[Distribution] Cultivated or wild. It grows in sunny, moist fields or along ditches. It is mainly produced in Rui’an, Zhejiang.

　　[Harvesting & Processing] The rhizomes are harvested in late winter to early spring. Fine roots are removed, the soil is washed off, and they are boiled in water for about two hours until the starchy part is slightly cooked. They are then taken out and dried on bamboo mats. [Components] The rhizomes contain volatile oil, including sesquiterpenol and sesquiterpene compounds such as curcumol, curclione, and β-elemene, which are effective anti-cancer components.

　　 The geographical indication protection area of Curcuma wenyujin is defined according to the scope proposed in the Rui’an Municipal People’s Government of Zhejiang Province’s Request for Delineating the Protected Production Area of Curcuma wenyujin Geographical Indication Product (Rui Zheng [2007] No. 9), covering the entire current administrative region of Rui’an, Zhejiang.