ABSTRACT

Ginger is a popular spice and the world production is estimated at 100,000 tons annually, of which 80% is grown in China.[1] In addition to its long history of use as a spice, references to ginger as a medicinal agent can be found in ancient Chinese, Indian, Arabic, and Greco-Roman texts. Ginger has been used for a variety of conditions, but it is chiefly known as an antiemetic, anti-inflammatory, digestive aid, diaphoretic, and warming agent. In the year 2000, ginger sales ranked 17th among those of all herbal supplements sold in U.S. mainstream retail stores.[2]

NAME AND GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The Zingiberaceae family consists of 49 genera and 1300 species, of which there are 80-90 species of Zingiber and 250 species of Alpinia. This entry will focus primarily upon the scraped or unscraped rhizome of common ginger, Zingiber officinale Roscoe, a reedlike plant grown in numerous subtropical areas of the world, including Jamaica, India, China, and Africa.[3]

CONSTITUENTS

Ginger rhizome contains 4-10% oleoresin composed of nonvolatile, pungent constituents (phenols such as gingerols and their related dehydration products, shogaols); nonpungent fats and waxes; 1.0-3.3% volatile oils of which 30-70% are sesquiterpenes, mainly b-bisabolene, () zingiberene, b-sesquiphellandrene, and (þ) arcurcumene; monoterpenes, mainly geranial and neral; 40-60% carbohydrates, mainly starch; 9-10% proteins and free amino acids; 6-10% lipids composed of triglycerides, phosphatidic acid, lecithins, and free fatty acids; vitamin A; niacin; and minerals.[4]

PHARMACOKINETICS

Gingerol, when administered intravenously to rats, demonstrated a half-life of 7.23min.[5] It is not clear how this relates to the pharmacokinetics of whole rhizome on oral administration in humans. Scientific studies are currently underway to determine the pharmacokinetics of ginger when administered orally; however, the results from these inquiries have not yet been published.