Ginger was used as a flavoring agent long before history was formally recorded. Indians and Chinese are believed to have produced ginger as a tonic root for over 5000 years to treat many ailments, and this plant is now cultivated throughout the humid tropics, with India being the largest producer. Interestingly, ginger does not grow in the wild and its actual origins are uncertain. In Greek, it was called ziggiberis, and in Latin, zinziberi. Ginger’s current name comes from the Middle English gingivere, but this spice dates back over 3000 years to the Sanskrit word srngaveram, meaning “horn root,” based on its appearance. The rhizome, which is the horizontal stem from which the roots grow, is the main portion of ginger that is consumed. Its spicy aroma is mainly due to presence of ketones, especially the gingerols, which appear to be the primary component of ginger studied in much of the health-related scientific research. Ginger is a member of a plant family that includes cardamom and turmeric. The primary purpose of this chapter is to comprehensively examine the available scientific evidence regarding ginger’s proven effectiveness in preventing or treating a variety of pathologic conditions.
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Over the last few years, interest in ginger or its various components as valid preventive or therapeutic agents has increased markedly, and scientific studies focusing on verification of ginger’s pharmacological and physiological actions have likewise increased ( Ali et al.
2005 Chrubasik and Pittler 2005 Chrubasik, Pittler, and Roufogalis 2005 Grzanna, Lindmark, and Frondoza 2005 Thompson and Potter 2006 Eliopoulos 2007 Shukla and Singh 2007 White 2007 Ali et al. 2001 Bode and Dong 2004 Boone and Shields 2005 Borrelli et al. The medicinal, chemical, and pharmacological properties of ginger have been extensively reviewed ( Surh, Lee, and Lee 1998 Ernst and Pittler 2000 Afzal et al. Ginger has been used for thousands of years for the treatment of numerous ailments, such as colds, nausea, arthritis, migraines, and hypertension. Previous reviews ( Barrett, Kiefer, and Rabago 1999 Ness, Sherman, and Pan 1999 Talalay and Talalay 2001) have emphasized the importance of careful scientific research in establishing the safety and efficacy of potential therapeutic plant remedies and in defining the risks and benefits of herbal medicine. Although ginger is generally considered to be safe ( Kaul and Joshi 2001), the lack of a complete understanding of its mechanisms of action suggests caution in its therapeutic use ( Wilkinson 2000a).
The oleoresin (i.e., oily resin) from the rhizomes (i.e., roots) of ginger contains many bioactive components, such as -gingerol (1-5-hydroxy-3-decanone Figure 7.1), which is the primary pungent ingredient that is believed to exert a variety of remarkable pharmacological and physiological activities. Ginger ( Zingiber officinale Roscoe, Zingiberaceae) is one of the most commonly consumed dietary condiments in the world ( Surh et al. Regrettably, a great deal of the information regarding the effectiveness and safety of these remedies has been garnered from anecdotal or historical accounts, and much of the information offered is generally misleading and might even be detrimental ( Ernst and Schmidt 2002). For example, at least one recent survey revealed a significant problem with herb-chemotherapeutic drug interactions in cancer patients and, notably, at least half of the herbal remedies taken by these patients lacked research data documenting their potential interactions ( Engdal, Klepp, and Nilsen 2009). However, this might not be a safe or advisable practice. More and more older adults (i.e., baby boomers) are using complementary and alternative medicine dietary supplements and herbal remedies without advice from a physician on the assumption that these substances will have a beneficial effect ( Cohen, Ek, and Pan 2002). The use of “natural” or alternative medicines has increased markedly over the last few years.
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