GINGERS OF SABAH : CONSERVATION, RESEARCH AND
EXPLOITATION OF SPECIES WITH ECONOMIC
POTENTIAL
Halijah Ibarahim
Dept. of Botany, Faculty pf Science, University of Malaya
59100 Kuala Lumpur
ABSTRACT
The Zinggiberaceae which represent relatively advance monocotyledonous plants are rhizomatous herbs found throughout tropical and subtropical region with its main distribution in Asia. It comprises at least 51 genera and 1500 species. The Indo-Malayan region is reportedly the centre of diversity of Zinggiberaceae with at least 20 genera and 160 species occurring in Borneo, while Holttum (1960) recorded 23 genera and 200 species for Peninsular Malaysia. Recent surveys and systematic studies may have increased these even more. It is unanimous opinion amongst scientists today that the loss of species and reduction of genetic diversity due to environmental hazards and habitat depletion is escalating. Hence the vast potential of underexploited, non-timber species such as ginger’s is destroyed with vanishing forests before the could even be studied or documented. Conservation of such underexploited species is essential not only for basic research, on which a lot of the basic informing is still lacking, but also for applied research with the aim of exploiting and utilizing species with economic potential. The need for research in ginger’s is made urgent by the fact that out of the seven underexploited commodity group identified by CUC (The Nature for Underutilized Crops, London), ginger’s are included in at least four of the groups. In addition, among the oldest species known to man were ginger and numeric, which also belong to the Zingiberaceae.
INTRODUCTION
The Zinggiberaceae is a moderately-sized family of relatively advanced monocotylodonous plants of the order Zingiberales. Zingiberaceous plants are rhizomatous, perrenial and aromatic herbs often of large size, bearing flowers either terminally on aerial leafshoots or from ground level. These are plants of tropical and subtropical regions distributed mainly in Asia. Several authors have quoted different figures for the total number of genera and species but it is probably appropriate to quote the world record to be at least 51 genera and 1500 species (Chen & Chen, 1998). The Indo-Malayan region is reportedly the centre of diversity for Zinggiberaceae with at least 20 genera species occurring in Borneo, while Hottlum (1950) recorded 23 genera and 200 species for Peninsular Malaysia (Hottlum’s genera were later reduced by Smith’s revision of Bornean ginger’s). Recent surveys and systematic may have increased these figures even more.
The current records indicate that the tribes Alpinene and Zingibereacea are quite well represented in Borneo including 2 genera (Burbidgea and Geanthus) unknown in Peninsular Malaysia. Expect for the 20 species described for Boesenbergia, the tribe Hedychease, with only 6 genera, is poorly represented in Borneo (Smith, 1987). The tribe Globeae is similarly poorly represented with 8 species described so far (Smith, 1988). Indification of Zinggiberaceae of Borneo, in general, and Sabah, in particular, is sometimes very difficult due to lack of good reference specimens and limited literature for Borneo gingers. The only major taxonomic study done so far has been that of R.M. Smith of Edinburgh Botanic Gardens, and to a lesser extent by other taxonomists such as B.L. Burtt, also Edinburgh Botanic Gardens.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Many of the species recorded in Sabah are predominantly wild, growing in various habitats ranging from riverine to mountain regions although the scarcity of species is quite evident in cooler altitudes. On small isolated islands which are relatively dry, few gingers are found or sometimes even none as was observed on two islands of Lahad Datu.
Ginger’s of Sabah can be grouped as follows:
Conservation
It is unanimous opinion among scientists today that the loss of spices and reduction of genetic diversity is primarily due to environmental hazards and habitat depletion caused by logging, agriculture and other economic developments. Hence, the vast potential of underexploited, non-timber species, such as ginger’s, is destroyed with the vanishing forest before they can be studied or documented. Research on genetic variation carried out so far was more on allelic diversity at selected loci of selected species.
Conservation of underexploited ginger’s is essential not only for basic research, on which a lot of the basic information is still lacking, but also for applied research with the aim of exploiting and utilizing species with economic potential. Although conservation is priority of national parks and forest reserves, whose main function is to preserve and protect the natural flora, it can also be extended to botanic gardens, research gardens and on a smaller scale, private gardens. This can be done with ease in Malaysia, and especially so in Sabah, considering that the Sabah Parks cover roughly 265, 794 hectares, which is approximately 3.6% of the total area of the State of Sabah. The two largest parks, Kinabalu Park and Crocker Range, are about 75,370 and 139,919 hectares respectively. Of the two, Kinabalu Park had been partially surveyed for ginger’s but very little are known about ginger’s of Crocker Range.
From a preliminary survey of Kinabalu Park earlier in the year, Poring was found to be rich in Zingiberaceae e.g., Boesenbergia spp species; probably due to its geographical location. The extent of species diversity in this area however is uncertain. Nevertheless, from general observations, it appears that Poring differs from Kinabalu Park Headquarters area in its species composition.
The management of Sabah Parks, in general and Kinabalu Park, in particular, must be congratulated for their efforts in conserving e.g., Zingiberaceae germplasm. A variety of ginger’s are planted in well-maintained plots and gardens within the Kinabalu Park Headquarters area and Poring Hot Spring. Some ginger’s are conserve in their natural habitats as part of the Park’s landscape design. These plants not only provide natural beauty to surrounding area but also instill public awareness of the richness of Zingibearacea species in the park. The collection and conservation of Sabah ginger’s is also executed through the preservation of live plants at the Sabah University of Malaya’s botanic garden (Rimba Ilmu), the Department of Botany’s research garden and through the storage of herbarium specimens in the Department of Botany’s herbarium.
Research
Long before man knew the meaning of civilization, plants play in important part of their lives providing food and raw materials for medicine, shelter and domestic purposes. Scientists are in constant search for novel species, varieties and cultivars of crops for man’s future survival. As pressure on available natural resources continue to escalate due to habitat depletion, greater efforts must be devoted towards crop diversification by developing under-utilized crops plants. Gingers are no exception. The importance of their wild relatives are genetic resources that should not be overlooked. The degree to which gingers need further study can be shown be the fact that out of the seven underexploited commodity groups, identified by CUC (The Centre for Underutilised Crops, London), ginger’s can be classified under at least four of the groups (Table 1).
The followings are perceived to be valuable approaches in the study of ginger’s:
The initial survey, documentation and other basic research will involve the most up-to-date information about taxonomic delimitation and classification, and species distribution, taking into consideration ecological and geographical factors. The survey of herbarium specimens at established herbaria such as Kew and Laiden should also incorporated in this initial phase. Subsequently, this will in result a computerized and published in the form of books, handbooks or pamphlets to be made available to researchers, educators and industrialists. Hence knowledge of their potential can be disseminated to facilitate their use in agriculture, traditional medicine and various industries. The initial program will also allow the collection of generically valuable materials for gene banks either as live plants or stored as seeds. Nevertheless, seed storage is not possible for every genus.
Both in situ conservation (in protected areas and ex situ conservation (in botanic gardens, arboreta, etc.) are essential for the preservation and utilization of wild relatives of ginger of economic importance. However, insufficient funding for the maintenance of these living plants has been one of the major setbacks in research and development of ginger’s with economic potential.
Since seed storage is applicable only to specific genera, seed supplies may be inadequate due to seed unavailability, short shortage of germplasm. This will result in some valuable species, subspecies or varieties being insufficiently represented in the germplsam collection. In vitro is seen as an alternative method of conservation and to a certain extent can be considered as a genebank base collection. This techniques is becoming increasingly important and has been proven to useful for important crops such as coconut (Assy Bah et al, 1987), cassava (Chavez et al,1987) and wild species of Gossypium (Altman et al, 1987), In vitro culture have also been successfully obtained for ginger Zingiber officinale Rosc. (Balachandran et.al 1990; Ilahi & Jabseen, 1987). However, the development of in vitro genebanks can be quite costly. There is a need for national and international collaboration in order to achieve the objectives stated above.
Exploitation of species with economic potential.
A large number of species from the ginger family have been cultivated for their use as food, medicine and ornamentals (Tables 1). However the usefulness of the native species has not been fully appreciated and exploited. The contents of Table 1 are discussed in greater detail below.
Among the common species are Zingiber officinale Rose otherwise known as ginger (rhizome), Curcuma domestica Val. or turmeris (rhizome, leaf), Alpinia galagna Sw. (rhizome, inflorescence), Etlingera elator (Jack) R.M. Smith (inflorescence, rhizome, aerial stem), Kaempferia galanga Linn. (leaf, rhizome). Ginger, for instance, is known to flavour all kinds of oriental dishes ranging from curries, ‘rendang’ to ‘steamed’ dishes. It is also processed into beverages (e.g., ginger beer, ginger drink), and provides flavouring for cakes, pastries and sweets. Indonesia has produced refreshing
Table 1 : A Summary of the economic potential of Zingiberaceae species
Commodity groups Species |
1. Food (flavouring, vegetables, beverage) Species mainly from tribes : Alpuneae, Zingiberaceae, Hedycheae 2. Industrial, Fibre (comestic, paper, dye Species mainly from tribes: Headycheae, Essential oils. Alpineae, Zingiberaceae 3. Species, Medicine Bioactive species s, aromatic the four tribes of Zingiberoideae 4. Omamental plants Species from the for tribes of Zingiberoideae |
Drinks (also claimed to be good as health drinks) extracted from Zingiber officinale and Kaempferia galanga. Our studies have shown that Kaempferia galanga contains relatively high amount of iron (78mg/100g) (Ibrahim and Rahin, 1988). Gingers can be potential producers of vitamin C (Hashim et al, 1998) and starch (Dastur, 1964). A part from rizhome, experiments could be carried out on fruits, aromatic seeds and inflorescences of select species as pontential sources of drinks, flavourings and food. In Sabah, the fruits of Etlingera fimbriobracteata has been used as a kind of conserve (Julius Kulip per. Comm.), and fruits of some Etlingera spp. And Hornstedtia spp. Are also edible (Gabriel, pers.comm.)
Species with very fibrous leaves can be processed for the production of fibres and paper. Etlingera elatior was known to be successfully processed for papermaking albeit not high quality. The leaves of many species are quite fibrous and hence having good potential for their exploitation into economic products.
The Zingiberaceae is characterised by its aromatic properties. Many of its representatives are rich in essential oils, which can be potential sources for cosmetics and medicines. Essential oil excracts are known to vary from sweet smelling to unpleasant odours. The perfume zedoary is obtained from rhizome of curcuma zedoaria (Uphof, 1968). Curcuma xanthoghiza Roxb. Is commercially used in Mustika Ratu cosmetic (from Indonesia) for the treatment of acne.
Our studies have revealed that there is a spectrum of essential oils present in Zingibereacea species (Ibrahim & Zakaria, 1987; Zakaria at al, 1989). A large number of species, particularly the strongly aromatic ones, could be screened to production of medicinal essential oils. An Institute in Bandung, Indonesia, was set up to specialise in all kinds of aromatic and spice plants. The essential oil palants were maintained in plots and when mature, were extracted and distributed for commercial as well as research purpose.
The Orientals are especially known for diverse kind of species. Among the common species derived from the ginger family are Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton. (cardamon), Alpinia galanga, Zingiber officinale and Curcuma domestica. These are known as cultivated plants in sabah and Sarawak. Although cardamons are actually the ripe and dried seeds of Elettaria cardamomum, wild species of Amomum, Elettaria and perhaps Alpinia, can be exploited as alternative sources of cardamon and may represent a potential export commodity. Amomum subulatum Roxb. For example, is the source of Nepal cardamon (uphof, 1968).
In Malaysia, about 30-40 species of Zingiberaceae have long been used in traditional medicine. This has been to used to cure a variety of diseases and ailments such as rheumatism, high blood pressure, sinus, and indigestion. Researches into the medicinal properties of these species have shown that the extracts of several species of Zingiber and Curcucuma are positive for antimicrobial activities. Similar experiments are part of an ongoing research project at the University of Malaya where no less than 10 cultivated species have been tested or screened. So far, preliminary screening of 14 species of the ginger family (including 3 species of Costus which most authors recognise as a separate family, Costaceae, within the order Zingiberales) showed the presence of alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids and saponin; of which terpenoid appeared to be ubiquitous (Zakaria and Ibrahim, 1987). There are a number of wild Zingibers in Sabah, which can be screened for their bioactivity, and hence reseaech into their chemistry is essential. In the United State of America, for instance, the National Institute of Health and other agencies are screening Zingiberaceae species for anticancer activity.
Zingiberaceae species have not been fully exploited for ornamental purposes in Sabah. Before the forests a further depleted of their ginger diversity, there is a dire need for the exploitation of wild species as the geography and soil condition of some areas of Sabah are favorable for commercial growing of a variety of ornmental Zingibearaceae including the mountain species. In the western countries, especially the United States of America, there is increase in the popularity of Zingibeareacae as decorative plants in indoor gardens, landscapes and floral arrangements. Native species can be exploited for these decorative purposes. Globba atrosanguiena Teysm. & Binn. Which grows wild in Sabah (Danum Valley) is already quite popular as an attractive pot plant. Research should be developed with the aim of producing improved varieties and hybrids by natural or artificial hybridization. In a Costa Rican commercial farm, various shades of pink or to red forms of Alpinia purpurata and Etlingera elatior and planted for cut flower industry. Flowering, however, is not always uniform for many gingers. Therefore research should also be geared at inducing frequent flowering taking into consideration the edaphic and ecological factors.
In conclusion, it should be emphasized that there are still many forest reserves in Sabah, such as those are gazetted to be managed by sabah Parks which are yet to be explored for Zingiberaceaea species of economic importance. Ther should be a conceerted effort in developing and exploiting species with economic potential as this may prove to be a valuable economic investment.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am most grateful to the Orginising Committee of Borneo Conference, in particular Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ghazally Ismail and Dr. Clive Marsh, for the financial support. I wish to also thank the Director of Sabah Taman Sabah. Encik Larmli Ali and staff of Kinabalu Park for their support, cooperation and encouragement during my recent survey of Kinabalu Park. Encik Gabriel Sinit is also thanked for his constant assistant.
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