Ginger

Ginger

What is it and how does it work in the body?

Ginger is the spicy and flavorful root of the flowering plant Zingiber officinale. Its origins are unknown, but it likely originated in Southeast Asia. Its name comes from Middle English "gingivere," tracing back over 3000 years to the Sanskrit "singaverom" ("horn root"). In Greek it was "zingiberis" and in Latin "zingiberi".

Ginger is a popular culinary ingredient and has been used for thousands of years medicinally.

Indians and Chinese are believed to have used ginger as a tonic for over 5000 years. It's now cultivated throughout the humid tropics, with India being the largest producer.

It was an important trade item exported from India to the Roman Empire over 2000 years ago, valued for its medicinal properties.

In the 13th and 14th centuries, a pound of ginger was equivalent to the cost of a sheep. By medieval times, it was imported preserved for use in sweets.

When consumed, the edible part is the thick root (rhizome). It's available fresh in produce sections and dried/ground in spice aisles.

Ginger is used in various forms: fresh, dried, pickled, preserved, crystallized, candied, and powdered/ground. The flavor is peppery and slightly sweet with a strong, spicy aroma. The concentration of essential oils increases as ginger ages. The intended use determines harvest time. For oil extraction, it's harvested at 9+ months. Pickled ginger (often pink) is popular with sushi. Ginger harvested at 8-9 months has tough skin and is more pungent, usually dried/pulverized. This is the form in spice bottles and baked goods.

Candied/crystallized ginger is cooked in sugar syrup and coated with sugar. Ginger harvested at 5 months is immature with thin skin, tender rhizomes, and a mild flavor, best used fresh or preserved.

What is it used for and at what dosage?

The unique compounds within ginger are the primary source of its health benefits. The oleoresin (oily resin) contains many bioactive components. Ginger has been fractionated into at least 14 bioactive compounds, including [4]-gingerol, [6]-gingerol, [8]-gingerol, [10]-gingerol, [6]-paradol, [14]-shogaol, [6]-shogaol, 1-dehydro-[10]-gingerdione, [10]-gingerdione, hexahydrocurcumin, tetrahydrocurcumin, gingerenone A, 1,7-bis-(4-hydroxyl-3'-methoxyphenyl)-5-methoxyhepthan-3-one, and methoxy-[10]-gingerol. The proportion of each depends on origin, commercial processor, and whether the ginger is fresh, dried, or processed.  

The primary component is gingerol (1-[4'-hydroxy-3'-methoxyphenyl]-5-hydroxy-3-decanone), the primary pungent ingredient thought to exert various pharmacological and physiological activities. Ginger is deemed safe, but the lack of full understanding of its mechanism is why there is caution in its therapeutic properties.

Ginger has been used medicinally for thousands of years. It has shown antioxidant properties and reduces inflammatory enzymes.

Therefore, ginger is thought to be beneficial for pain relief, especially arthritis-based conditions, and menstrual cramps. Ginger has been linked to treating chronic rather than acute pain symptoms.

One study showed that ginger oil (33 mg/kg), orally administered to rats for 26 days, significantly repressed paw and joint swelling associated with severe chronic adjuvant arthritis. More recently, the effectiveness of a crude ginger extract was compared with a fraction containing only gingerols and derivatives to inhibit joint swelling in the streptococcal cell wall-induced arthritis animal model of rheumatoid arthritis.

The most common and well-established use of ginger throughout history is probably its utilization in alleviating symptoms of nausea and vomiting. The benefits and dangers of herbal treatment of liver and gastrointestinal distress have been reviewed, and several controlled studies have reported that ginger is generally effective as an antiemetic. The effectiveness of ginger as an antiemetic has been attributed to its carminative effect, which helps to break up and expel intestinal gas. This idea was supported by the results of a randomized, double-blind trial in which healthy volunteers reported that ginger effectively accelerated gastric emptying and stimulated antral contractions.  

The cases where ginger has been shown to be most effective are nausea and vomiting associated with pregnancy, chemotherapy, and some types of surgery. The clinical data undoubtedly indicate that ginger is at least as effective and may be better than vitamin B6 in treating these symptoms. Again, mechanisms are lacking, but no reports indicate that ginger has any adverse side effects or that it can worsen illness in pregnant women or patients.  

In addition, ginger helps with blood sugar regulation by reducing enzymes that break down carbohydrates. Studies have found that ginger helps with glucose absorption without the need of increased insulin.  

Safety concerns, side effects, and precautions?

Ginger is recognized by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a food additive that is "generally recognized as safe." However, and notably, in 1930, thousands of Americans were poisoned and paralyzed by an illicit extract of Jamaican ginger (jake) that was used to circumvent prohibition laws. The extract had been adulterated with a neurotoxic organophosphate compound, triorthocresyl phosphate. The extract was banned in 1931.  

One study showed that oral administration of a ginger extract (1000 mg/kg) to pregnant rats had no adverse effects on the mothers or in the development of fetuses. However, this result differed to an earlier study, in which administration of ginger tea to pregnant rats resulted in twice the loss of embryos but heavier surviving fetuses compared to untreated controls.  

In a more recent study, male and female rats that were fed ginger powder (500, 1000, or 2000 mg/kg BW) by gavage for 35 days did not exhibit any overall mortalities or abnormalities in behavior, growth, or food and water consumption. No overt organ abnormalities were observed and hematological and blood biochemical parameters in treated and untreated control animals were similar.  

Conclusion:

More studies are needed on the long-term effects ginger has on health and better ways to utilize it in our everyday diet. Specific molecular targets and mechanisms of action need to be identified to understand what interactions this supplement has with other medications or dietary limitations. Ginger clearly has a vast number of components and metabolites, many of which have not been studied in detail.

Overall, ginger has many beneficial effects and has a myriad of enhancements in many areas of life.