Alpinia purpurata (Viell.) K. Schum. is an ornamental plant that is native to the Pacific Islands but is currently cultivated on a large scale in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, by virtue of its capacity to flower continuously throughout the year and of the exuberance and durability of the blooms so-produced. However, only the highest quality blooms can be commercialised and those that fall short of this standard are discarded as waste material. Although information is available concerning the composition of the essential oil derived from flowers of A. purpurata ( Zoghbi et al., 1999 and Victório et al., 2010), the pharmacological activities of extracts of this species have received little attention. It is known, however, that essential oils in general exhibit a wide variety of biological effects including antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and antiparasitic activities.