Chapter 11 - Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe): An Ancient Remedy and Modern Drug in Gastrointestinal Disorders

Abstract

The rhizome of Zingiber officinale Roscoe, commonly known as ginger, is a useful spice and food condiment. It is attributed to several medicinal properties that include arthritis, sprains, muscular aches, pains, sore throats, cramps, hypertension, dementia, fever, infectious diseases, catarrh, nervous diseases, gingivitis, toothache, asthma, stroke, and diabetes. Ginger is one of the more commonly used herbs for digestive support, to aid digestion and treat various gastrointestinal ailments. Experimental studies have shown that it possesses carminative, gastroprotective, antiulcerative, and antiemetic properties to prevent epigastric discomfort, dyspepsia, stomachache, and abdominal spasm. Together, these reports clearly suggest that ginger has significant medicinal use and renders therapeutic benefit in most conditions. However, conflicting reports especially in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and motion sickness necessitates the requirement for more studies. The current review summarizes the traditional and scientific observations on the gastrointestinal protective effect of ginger. An attempt is also made to address the lacunae in these published studies and emphasize aspects that need further investigations for the studies to be of use in clinics in the future.