ABSTRACT
Almost as important medicinally as it is culinarily. Ginger, as our maps indicate, originated on the Indian subcontinent. Newmark and Schulick (2000) quote an Indian proverb that every good quality is contained in ginger. Confucius always had ginger with his meals. The surgeon general for Claudius and Nero used ginger for stomach problems. Mills and Bone (1999) cite
in vivo,
in vitro,
and some clinical evidences re ginger’s antiallergic, antiemetic, antihepatotoxic, antiinflammatory, antinauseant, antioxidant, antiparasitic, antiplatelet, antipyretic, antiseptic, antitussive, cardiovascular, digestive, and hypoglycemic activities (MAB). Reportedly carminative, aromatic, stimulant, stomachic, and tonic. Chinese have dozens of uses for the ginger. The bruised leaves are used as a digestive stimulant and for bruise. Sprouts are used for diarrhea, dysentery, marasmus, and worms. Chinese use the root for alopecia, bleeding, cancer, cholera, colds, congestion, diarrhea, dropsy, dysmenorrhea, nausea, rheumatism, snakebite, stomachache, and toothache. Chinese consider the root sialagogue when chewed, sternutatory when inhaled. It is also considered antidotal to aroid and mushroom poisonings. Cotton balls soaked in ginger juice
are used in China for first-and second-degree burns; reported clinically successful in alleviating pain, blisters, and inflammation. In TCM, fresh ginger is “sheng jiang,” an herb for wind chills; dry ginger is “gan jiang” more to warm the interior (Libster, 2002). Ginger and garlic are mixed with honey in one Indian cough and asthma remedy. Juice administered in Malay Peninsula against colic. Externally, the rhizome is an efficient rubefacient and counterirritant. The bark poultice, like the leaf cataplasm, is used for felons and inflamed tumors. The rhizome also shows up in folk remedies for cancer. Fresh root chewed and sucked to relieve thirst. Leaves pounded and poulticed warm onto bruises. Weed (2002) recommends ginger tea with honey as a warming drink for upset stomach. Fresh root, grated and steeped in boiling water, or a tablespoon of powdered ginger in a cup of hot water can be a pleasure (Weed, 2002). Ginger tea can even calm the heart. It may, however, increase sweating and flooding. Ginger will warm and help relieve constipation (which may contribute to urge incontinence). Ginger baths, soaks, and compresses can soothe sore and aching joints; hot ginger compresses for fibromyalgia (Weed, 2002). Weed (2002) says, “Ginger root tea warms and nourishes the entire pelvis. Try a cup/250 ml a day, sweetened with honey, for several weeks. Regular menses may be re-established, or the spotting may temporarily increase, then stop.” At the same time, she warns that hot flashes can be triggered by black pepper, cayenne, and ginger.
