Alpinia galanga to cardamom. The rhizome is a common ingredient in Thai curries and soups, where it is used fresh in chunks or cut into thin slices, mashed and mixed into curry paste. Indonesian "rendang" is usually spiced with galangal. Under the names 'chewing John', 'little John to chew', and 'court case root', it is used in African American folk medicine and hoodoo folk magic. Ayurveda considers "A. galanga" (Sanskrit:-"rasna") as a Vata Shamana drug. Known as ("perarathai") in Tamil, this form of ginger is used with licorice root, called in Tamil "athi-mathuram" ("Glycyrrhiza glabra") as folk medicine for colds and sore
International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants that UPOV's focus on patents for plant varieties hurts farmers, in that it does not allow them to use saved seed or that of protected varieties. Countries with strong farmers' rights, such as India, cannot comply to all aspects of UPOV. François Meienberg is of this opinion, and writes that the UPOV system has disadvantages, especially for developing countries, and that "at some point, protection starts to thwart development". On the other hand, Rolf Jördens argues that plant variety protection is necessary. He believes that by joining UPOV, developing countries will have more access to new and improved varieties (better