ABSTRACT
The use of “natural” or alternative medicines for treating a variety of ailments has increased significantly in the past few years. More and more older adults are using complementary and alternative medicine dietary supplements and herbal remedies without advice from a physician (1). Unfortunately much of the information regarding the effectiveness and safety of these remedies has been gleaned from anecdotal or historical accounts, which seem to be readily available from a variety of sources. For example, advice offered to pregnant women by “medical herbalists” is readily available over the Internet, and gen-erally the advice offered is misleading and may even be dangerous (2). Plants of the ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe, Zingiberaceae) family are among the most heavily consumed dietary substances in the world (3). Although ginger has been suggested, by results of both experimental and clinical data, to be safe for therapeutic use (4), many clinicians and researchers advise caution because of the lack of a complete understanding of its mechanisms of action (5-7). The acquisition of sound scientific research data has only just become a priority for determining the mechanism of action of many dietary compounds, including ginger. A recent review emphasizes the importance of scientific appraisal to establish the safety and efficacy of potential therapeutic plant remedies (8), and the risks and benefits of herbal medicine have also been reviewed (9, 10). Ginger has been purported to have a variety of powerful therapeutic effects and has been used for thousands of years for treatment of numerous ailments, including colds, nausea, arthritis, migraines, and hypertension. The medici-nal, chemical, and pharmacological properties of ginger have been recently extensively reviewed (11-13). The purpose of this chapter is to critically evaluate the available scientific evidence supporting the effective and safe use of ginger and some of its various components.
