PDR for Herbal Medicines

HERBAL MONOGRAPHS GINGER/339

Bangladeshi crude drug, akond mul (roots of Calotropis

gigantea L.). Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo), 46:528-30, 1998 Mar.

Sen S, Sahu NP, Mahato SB, Flavonol glycosides from

Calotropis gigantea. Phytochemisjry, 232:2919-21, 1992 Aug.

4£ Sengupta A, Bhattacharya D, Pal G, Sinha NK, Comparative
studies on calotropins DI and DII from the latex of Calotropis
gigantea. Arch Biochem Biophys, 232:17-25, 1984 Jul.

Gillenia trifoliata

See Indian Phasic

Ginger

Zingiber officinale

TRADE NAMES

Ginger Root (available from numerous manufacturers,)

Ginger Kid, Alcohol Free Ginger Root, Ginger Power,

Caffeine-Free Ginger Root, Quanterra Stomach Comfort

DESCRIPTION

Medicinal Parts: The medicinal part is the root.

Flower and Fruit: The flower scape grows directly from the

root and terminates in a long, curved spike. A white or

yellow flower grows from each spike.

Leaves, Stem and Root: Ginger is a creeping perennial on a

thick tuberous rhizome, which spreads underground. In the

first year, a green, erect, reed-like stem about 60 cm high

grows from this rhizome. The plant has narrow, lanceolate to

linear-lanceolate leaves 15 to 30 cm long, which die off each

year.

Characteristics: The fracture is short and fibrous. The odor

and taste are characteristic, aromatic and pungent.

Habitat: The plant is indigenous to southeastern Asia, and is

cultivated in the U.S., India, China, the West Indies and

tropical regions.

Production: Ginger root consists of the peeled, finger-long,

fresh or dried rhizome of Zingiber officinale.

ACTIONS AND PHARMACOLOGY

COMPOUNDS

Volatile oil (2.5-3.0%): chief components vary greatly,

depending upon country of origin: (-)-zingiberene and ar-

curcumene, beta-bisabolene and ar-curcumene, neral and

geranial, D-camphor, beta-phellandrene, geranial, neral and

linalool, (E)-alpha-farnesene, important as aroma carrier

zingiberol (mixture of cis- and trans-beta-eudesmol)

Aryl alkanes

Gingerols: chief components [6]-gingerol (pungent sub-

stances), [8]-gingerol, [10]-gingerol

Shogaols: chief components [6]-shogaol (pungent substane),

[8]- shogaol, [10]- shogaol (artifacts formed during storage.

arising from the gingerols)

Gingerdiols

Diarylheptanoids: including among others, gingerenone A

and B

Starch (50%)

EFFECTS

Compounds isolated from the Ginger rhizome have been

studied in numerous in vitro and animal experiments. Other

studies show that Ginger root is positively inotropic.

antithrombotic; has anti-oxidant, anti-migraine and anti-lipi-

demic effects, and promotes secretion of saliva, gastric juices

and bile.

Anti-Emetic Effects

The components in Ginger that are responsible for the anti-

emetic effect are thought to be the gingerols and sho-

gaols.The mechanism of action is not due to a nystagmus

response or vestibular stimulation (Holtmann, 1989). In

contrast to most anti-emetic medications that act on the CNS.

the anti-emetic effect of Ginger is thought to be due to local

gastrointestinal actions (Mowrey & Clayton, 1982).

Anti-Inflammatory Effects

The anti-inflammatory effect of Ginger is thought to be due

to inhibition of cyclooxygenase and 5-lipoxygenase, results

in reduced leukotriene and prostaglandin synthesis (Kiuchi.

1992; Srivastava & Mustafa, 1992).

Miscellaneous Effects

In humans, Ginger increases the tone and peristalsis of the

intestine (Bisset, 1994; Iwu, 1993). The root of Zingiber

officinale has also shown immune system stimulation

(Chang, 1995) and platelet aggregation inhibitory activity

(Verma, 1993).

CLINICAL TRIALS

Motion Sickness

One double-blind, randomized, non-placebo controlled study

compared the effectiveness of Ginger and six other common-

ly used non-herbal drugs (scopolamine, dimenhydrinate with

caffeine, cyclizine, cinnarizine, cinnarizine with domperi-

done, meclizine with caffeine) in 1489 participants during

whale-watching voyages off the coast of Norway. 78.3% of

those that took 500 mg of Ginger root 2 hours prior to a boat