Background : Kaempferia galanga known as kencur in Indonesia is widely used
in traditional medicine to treat several diseases. Kaempferia rotunda and
Kaempferia pandurata are species that are closely related to kencur which are
available in traditional Indonesian markets. Both may be used as a counterfeit for
kencur or can also be used as a raw material for kencur. Physically the three
medicinal plants have almost the same rhizome color but size and smell, so it is
not too difficult to distinguish them. Method: Kencur powder, Temu Kunci,
Kunir Putih and wheat flour in a ratio of 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, 0:100 were
analyzed using FTIR spectrophotometry combined with PCA chemometrics.
Results : analysis of kencur powder, temu Kunci, kunir putih and wheat flour
produced two wave number regions, namely 3402.43-3211.48 cm-1 and
1707-501.49 cm-1. PCA analysis resulted in the four materials being in four
different quadrants. Conclusion : The FTIR spectrophotometric method
combined with PCA analysis can be used to distinguish kencur powder with its
related species and the adulteration material, in this case wheat flour.