Holistic Health Articles and Research Related to Herbal Medicines, Foods and Phytochemicals : Popular #Herbs

Wednesday, 30 October 2013

Popular #Herbs - #Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) or ginger root is the genus Zingiber, belonging to the family Zingiberaceae, native to Tamil. It has been used in traditional and Chinese medicine to treat dyspepsia, gastroparesis, constipation, edema, difficult urination, colic, etc.

Health Benefits

1. Anxiety

In the assessment of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) and its effect in reducing anxiety, found that -shogaol, 1-dehydro-6-gingerdione, and particularly the whole lipophilic ginger extract (K(i)=11.6 microg/ml) partially activate the 5-HT(1A) receptor (20-60% of maximal activation). In addition, the intestinal absorption of gingerols and shogaols was simulated and their interactions with P-glycoprotein were measured, suggesting a favourable pharmacokinetic profile for the 5-HT(1A) active compounds, according to "Identification of serotonin 5-HT1A receptor partial agonists in ginger" by Nievergelt A, Huonker P, Schoop R, Altmann KH, Gertsch J.(1)

2. Anti Diabetes and hypoglycaemic effect

In the evaluation of the hypoglycaemic potentials of ginger (Zingiber officinale) with extract of raw ginger was administered daily (500 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) for a period of 7 weeks to streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats found that The STZ-injected rats exhibited hyperglycaemia accompanied with weight loss, indicating their diabetic condition. At a dose of 500 mg/kg, raw ginger was significantly effective in lowering serum glucose, cholesterol and triacylglycerol levels in the ginger-treated diabetic rats compared with the control diabetic rats, according to "Anti-diabetic and hypolipidaemic properties of ginger (Zingiber officinale) in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats" by Zainab M. Al-Amina, Martha Thomsona, Khaled K. Al-Qattana, Riitta Peltonen-Shalabya/and Muslim Alia(2)

3. Ovarian cancer

In the identification of The effect of ginger and the major ginger components on cell growth in a panel of epithelial ovarian cancer cell lines found that in vitro, 6-shogaol is the most active of the individual ginger components tested. Ginger treatment resulted in inhibition of NF-kB activation as well as diminished secretion of VEGF and IL-8 and concluded that Ginger inhibits growth and modulates secretion of angiogenic factors in ovarian cancer cells. The use of dietary agents such as ginger may have potential in the treatment and prevention of ovarian cancer, according to "Ginger inhibits cell growth and modulates angiogenic factors in ovarian cancer cells" by Jennifer Rhode, Sarah Fogoros, Suzanna Zick, Heather Wahl, Kent A Griffith, Jennifer Huang, and J Rebecca Liu(3)

4. Anti-Cancer and Anti-Inflammatory effects

In the classification of the effect of ginger extract on the expression of NFκB and TNF-α in liver cancer-induced rats found that ginger extract significantly reduced the elevated expression of NFκB and TNF-α in rats with liver cancer. Ginger may act as an anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory agent by inactivating NFκB through the suppression of the pro-inflammatory TNF-α, according to "Ginger Extract (Zingiber Officinale) has Anti-Cancer and Anti-Inflammatory Effects on Ethionine-Induced Hepatoma Rats" by Shafina Hanim Mohd Habib,I Suzana Makpol, Noor Aini Abdul Hamid, Srijit Das, Wan Zurinah Wan Ngah, and Yasmin Anum Mohd Yusof (4)

5. Functional dyspepsia

In the assessment of evaluate the effects of ginger on gastric motility and emptying, abdominal symptoms, and hormones that influence motility in dyspepsia found that Ginger stimulated gastric emptying and antral contractions in patients with functional dyspepsia, but had no impact on gastrointestinal symptoms or gut peptides, according to "Effect of ginger on gastric motility and symptoms of functional dyspepsia" by Ming-Luen Hu, Christophan K Rayner, Keng-Liang Wu, Seng-Kee Chuah, Wei-Chen Tai, Yeh-Pin Chou, Yi-Chun Chiu, King-Wah Chiu, and Tsung-Hui Hu(5)

6. Wound healing

In the investigation of topically treated with a combination of 10% curcumin and 3% ginger extract (or with each agent alone) for a 21-day period and its wound healing effect found that a combination of curcumin and ginger extract might provide a novel approach to improving structure and function in skin and, concomitantly, reducing formation of non-healing wounds in “at-risk” skin, according to "A COMBINATION OF CURCUMIN AND GINGER EXTRACT IMPROVES ABRASION WOUND HEALING IN CORTICOSTEROID-DAMAGED HAIRLESS RAT SKIN" by Narasimharao Bhagavathula, Ph.D., Roscoe L. Warner, Ph.D., Marissa DaSilva, B.S., Shannon D. McClintock, B.S., Adam Barron, B.S., Muhammad N. Aslam, M.D., Kent J. Johnson, M.D., and James Varani, Ph.D.(6)

7. Delay of diabetic cataract

In the demonstration of antiglycating activity and ginger (Zingiber officinalis) found that ginger was effective against the development of diabetic cataract in rats mainly through its antiglycating potential and to a lesser extent by inhibition of the polyol pathway. Thus, ingredients of dietary sources, such as ginger, may be explored for the prevention or delay of diabetic complications, according to "Antiglycating potential of Zingiber officinalis and delay of diabetic cataract in rats" by Megha Saraswat, Palla Suryanarayana, Paduru Yadagiri Reddy, Madhoosudan A. Patil, Nagalla Balakrishna, and Geereddy Bhanuprakash Reddy(7)

(8) Osteoarthritis

In the researches of the effect of ginger in patient with Osteoarthritis suggested that nurses could consider this therapy as part of a holistic treatment for people with osteoarthritis symptoms. Controlled research is needed with larger numbers of older people to explore further the effects of the ginger compress therapy, according to "Ginger compress therapy for adults with osteoarthritis' by Tessa Therkleson(8)

9. Anti bacteria (Helicobacter pylori)

In the assessment of a standardized extract of ginger rhizome and the effect on the growth of Helicobacter pylori in vitro found that suggest ginger extracts may be useful for development as agents to reduce H. pylori-induced inflammation and as for gastric cancer chemoprevention, according to "Standardized ginger (Zingiber officinale) extract reduces bacterial load and suppresses acute and chronic inflammation in Mongolian gerbils infected with cagA+Helicobacter pylori" Kristen Gaus, Yue Huang, Dawn A. Israel, Susan L. Pendland, Bolanle A. Adeniyi, and Gail B. Mahady(9)

10. Liver cancer

In the investigation of the effect of ginger in ethionine induced rat hepatocarcinogenesis found that ginger supplementation suppressed liver carcinogenesis by scavenging the free radical formation, and by reducing lipid peroxidation, according to "Chemopreventive Efficacy of Ginger (Zingiber Officinale) in Ethionine Induced Rat Hepatocarcinogenesis" by
Yasmin Anum Mohd Yusof, Norliza Ahmad, Srijit Das, Suhaniza Sulaiman, and Nor Azian Murad(10)

11. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Beside with the potential to be used in treating liver cancer, ginger is found to protect liver against Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), according to "Potential efficacy of ginger as a natural supplement for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease" by Amirhossein Sahebkar(11)

12. Rheumatoid Arthritis

In the observation of crude ginger extract and its effect on joint swelling in an animal model of rheumatoid arthritis, streptococcal cell wall (SCW)-induced arthritis, found that these data document a very significant joint-protective effect of these ginger samples, and suggest that non-gingerol components are bioactive and can enhance the antiarthritic effects of the more widely studied gingerols, according to "Comparative Effects of Two Gingerol-Containing Zingiber officinale Extracts on Experimental Rheumatoid Arthritis"
Janet L. Funk, Jennifer B. Frye, Janice N. Oyarzo, mand Barbara N. Timmermann(12)

13. Colon cancer

In the classification of ginger extract and 6-gingerol and theirs effect on colon cancer biology--cancer cell proliferation and angiogenic potential of endothelial cell tubule formation, found that 6-gingerol has two types of antitumor effects: 1) direct colon cancer cell growth suppression, and 2) inhibition of the blood supply of the tumor via angiogenesis. Further research is warranted to test 6-gingerol in animal studies as a potential anticancer plant bioactive in the complementary treatment of cancer, according to "Ginger's (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) inhibition of rat colonic adenocarcinoma cells proliferation and angiogenesis in vitro" by
Brown AC, Shah C, Liu J, Pham JT, Zhang JG, Jadus MR.

14. Pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting

In the assessing the evidence for or against the efficacy and safety of ginger (Zingiber officinale) therapy for nausea and vomiting during pregnancy found that Ginger may be an effective treatment for nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. However, more observational studies, with a larger sample size, are needed to confirm the encouraging preliminary data on ginger safety, according to "Effectiveness and safety of ginger in the treatment of pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting' by Borrelli F, Capasso R, Aviello G, Pittler MH, Izzo AA.(14)

15. Motion sickness

In the evaluation of the antimotion sickness activity of ginger root (Zingiber officinale) found that Ginger effectively reduces nausea, tachygastric activity, and vasopressin release induced by circular vection. In this manner, ginger may act as a novel agent in the prevention and treatment of motion sickness, according to "Effects of ginger on motion sickness and gastric slow-wave dysrhythmias induced by circular vection" by Lien HC, Sun WM, Chen YH, Kim H, Hasler W, Owyang C.(15)

16. Etc.

Side effects

1. The herb may interact with blood thinner medication, please consult with your doctor iof you are currently yaking such medicine

2. Do not use the herb if you have ulcer or internal bleeding

3. Due to certain chemical compound, ginger may cause heartburn, diarrhea and irritation of the mouth

4. Do not use the herb, if you have gallstones, as this herb increases bile production

5. It may cause allergic effect

6. Do not use in case of yin deficiency or in stomach heat with vomiting, according to TCM

7. Etc.