Ceylon Ginger Root

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) belongs to the family Zingiberaceae. Rich phytochemistry of ginger leads to its health-promoting perspective. Volatiles components of ginger includes sesquiterpene and monoterpenoid hydrocarbons providing the distinct aroma and taste of ginger, non-volatile pungent compounds in turmeric include shogaols, gingerols, paradols, and zingerone. Ginger has a strong potential to treat a number of diseases including digestive health (indigestion, constipation and ulcer), degenerative disorders (arthritis and rheumatism), cardiovascular disorders (atherosclerosis and hypertension), diabetes mellitus, vomiting and cancer. It posesses anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties and thus aids in controlling the process of aging. Ginger can also treat infectious diseases as it has antimicrobial activity. Oxidative stress plays an important role in heart diseases, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and in the aging process. The bioactive compound gingerols present in ginger have shown antioxidant activity in various modules. It has been indicated that the ethanolic extract of ginger reduced body weights and levels of glucose, insulin, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, free fatty acids, and phospholipids in high-fat diets. As ginger possesses strong anti-inflammatory effect, it can help in reducing muscle pain after intense physical work out or activity. The anticancer potential of ginger is due to its functional ingredients like shogaol, gingerols and paradols that can prevent various cancers, metastasis and angiogenesis, induction of apoptosis, and inhibition of cellcycle progression. A good correlation between the total phenolic content and antioxidant activities of the non-volatile extracts of ginger was also reported. Ginger also aids in improving cardiovascular disorders, diabetes mellitus, and gastrointestinal health. 6-Shogaol showed the most potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties in ginger, which can be credited to the presence of alpha, beta-unsaturated ketone moiety. Animal modeling showed that ginger significantly lowered induced lipid peroxidation and raised the levels of antioxidant enzymes, together with serum glutathione The most common use of ginger throughout history is its utilization in alleviating symptoms of vomiting and nausea. The carminative nature of ginger helps in effectiveness of its use as an antiemetic as it helps to break up and expel intestinal gas. It has been showed that treatment of patients with ginger has hypo-algesic effects. 2 g of ginger supplementation for 11 days has been used on 36 participants to cure muscle pain. The study proved that daily consumption of raw and heat-treated ginger resulted in moderate-to-large reductions in muscle pain.