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Ginger (Zingiber officinale)
Ginger is a tropical plant (Zingiber officinale) native to Asia. The underground stem (rhizome) is used medicinally and as a food and spice.

Traditional use:
Ginger has been used since ancient times by the Greeks, Chinese, and others as a medicine, spice, and flavoring. It has long been recognized for its calming effect on the digestive system.

Benefit and use:
Ginger is most commonly used as a stomach remedy, to help expel gas from the intestines and treat nausea from morning sickness, upset stomach, seasickness, and motion sickness. It is also used to help reduce fevers and lessen the symptoms of colds.

Recent findings:
• Ginger appears to relieve inflammatory pain as effectively as aspirin, ibuprofen and other non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs, without their adverse side effects. Ginger does this by partially blocking COX 2 enzymes, which are necessary to inflammation. Unlike synthetic NSAIDs, it does not block COX-1, and therefore does not produce the gastric bleeding associated with these drugs. Ginger's therapuetic promise is supported by extensive evidence of strong anti-inflammatory effects in animals, and the very positive results of two preliminary clinical trials from Denmark. In the first study, seven patients were given ginger for three months, and each of them reported better relief from stiffness, swelling and pain than they had experienced from synthetic NSAIDs. In the second study, ginger was given to patients with rheumatoid arthritis, patients with osteoarthritis and 10 patients with fibromyalgia-like symptoms. In the end, three out of four experienced significant relief from pain and swelling.
• Ginger's potential to prevent nausea and vomiting after surgical operations and during chemotherapy treatment has excited biomedical health professionals. A recent study on 120 patients found that ginger was better than placebo and as effective as the conventional anti-emetic drug metoclopramide for preventing nausea after gynecological surgery. Because that prescription drug may cause a variety of adverse effects, from drowsiness to depression, ginger is a prominent candidate to replace it as the treatment of choice.
• Ginger may mildly stimulate circulation within the central part of the body.
• Studies suggest ginger reduces platelet aggregation and may lower LDL cholesterol levels.

Do scientists know how it works: Ginger contains an essential oil and certain pungent compounds, such as gingerol and shogaol, that are thought to be the main active ingredients. The herb apparently prevents nausea through effects on the stomach and gastrointestinal system rather than through the nervous system, as do conventional anti-emetics such as Dramamine (which is why Dramamine is associated with many more side effects and contraindications than ginger.) Ginger also shows antioxidant activity.

Types of products:
Ginger comes in a wide variety of forms, including fresh, dried, tablets, capsules, tinctures, extracts, syrups, and teas; follow dosage directions on labels. Even eating gingersnaps or candied ginger may help, unless they're made with artificial ginger flavor. Ginger is also used to make a popular essential oil that can be diffused into the air for inhalation or diluted in a vegetable oil for application by massage to treat such conditions as indigestion, nausea, colds and flu, muscle aches, and poor circulation.

Saftey:
Ginger has a long history of being taken in relatively large, multi-gram doses without causing any toxicity or side effects. Although many women use it successfully during early pregnancy to help control morning sickness, fetal development studies on animals fed large doses have not been done.

Books on Ginger:
Ginger: Common Spice and Wonder Drug by Paul Schulick (TK: 1996) The Ginger Book: The Ultimate Home Remedy by Stephen Fulder (Garden City Park, N.Y.: Avery Publishing Group, 1996)

References:

• Adverse Effects of Herbal Drugs, Edited by P.A.G.M. DeSmet, K. Keller, R. Hansel, R.F. Chandler. Springer Verlag, 1997.
• American Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook. Edited by McGuffin, Hobbs, Upton, and Goldberg. CRC Press 1997.
• Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Foods, Drugs, and Cosmetics, by Albert Leung, Ph.D. and Steven Foster. 1996, New York, John Wiley & Sons.
• Phillips, S., et al., "Zingiber officinale (ginger): An antiemetic for day case surgery," Anaesthesia 1993, 48:715-17
• Qian, D.S., and Z.S. Liu, "Pharmacologic studies of antimotion sickness actions of ginger," Chung Kuo Chung Hsi I Chieh Ho Tsa Chih (1992), 12(2):95-8, 70.
• Suekawa M, et al. [Pharmacological studies on ginger. IV, Effect of (6)-shogoal on the arachidonic cascade] Nippon Yakurigaku Zasshi.
• Kikuzaki H Nakatani N. Antioxidant effects of some ginger constituents. J Food Science 1993;58:1407.
• Lee YB, et al. Antioxidant property in ginger rhizome and its application to meat products. J Food Science 1986;51(1):20-23.
• Saito Y, et al. The antioxidant effects of petoleum ether soluble and insoluble fractions from spices. Eiyo To Shokuryo 1976;29:505-510.
• Srivastava KC, Mustafa T. Ginger (Zingiber officinale) and rheumatic disorders. Med Hypotheses 1989 May;29(1):25-8.
• Srivastava KC, Mustafa T. Ginger (Zingiber offincinale) in rheumatic and musculoskeletal disorders. Med Hypotheses 1992 Dec;39(4):342-8.
• Cyong JA. A pharmacological study of the antiinflammatory activity of Chinese herbs - A review. Int J Acupuncture Electro-Ther Res,1982;(7):173-202.

Ginger Abstracts:
Qian DS; Liu ZS. [Pharmacologic studies of antimotion sickness actions of ginger] Dept. of Pharmacology, Nantong Medical College. Chung Kuo Chung Hsi I Chieh Ho Tsa Chih, 1992 Feb. 12(2):95-8, 70
The pharmacologic actions related to antimotion sickness effects of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe.) were studied. There was no significant effect on parameters of rotatory movement-induced electronystagmogram of rabbit after intravenous (i.v.) infection of ginger juice. The low amplitude fast wave pattern of electrocorticogram of rabbit changed to high amplitude slow wave pattern after i.v. injection of ginger juice. Rabbit gastric contraction in situ was shortly suppressed after ginger juice i.v. administration. In the isolated rat fundus strip preparations, however, ginger juice reduced the spontaneous contractile frequency, and enhanced the spontaneous contractile amplitude, which was followed by inhibition. Ginger juice produced longitudinal contraction of the guinea-pig isolated ileum, which was followed by rapid tachyphylaxis. This contraction effect was not affected by hexamethonium and 5-HT, but could be inhibited by cold storage, hyoscine, morphine, diphenhydramine, promethazine and substance P desensitization. Naloxone could eliminate this inhibition produced by morphine. By using dose-response relationship plot, non-competitive antagonisms were observed between ginger juice and Ach and between ginger juice and histamine in isolated guinea-pig ileum. It is suggested that the pungent constituents of ginger release substance P from sensory fibres. The released substance P in turn either stimulates cholinergic and histaminic neurons to release Ach and histamine, respectively, or produces direct muscle contraction by activating M and H1 receptors correspondingly. It is proposed that after being excited by substance P, M and H1 receptors are inactive temporarily and unable to be excited by agonists, therefore, ginger juice exhibits anticholinergic and antihistaminic action. Ginger juice produces antimotion sickness action possibly by central and peripheral anticholinergic and antihistaminic effects.

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