OBJECTIVETo investigate the chemical constituents from the rhizomes of Zingiber officinale.

METHODIsolation and purification of the chemical constituents were carried out on the column chromatography of silica gel and Sephadex LH-20. The structures were elucidated on basis of physicochemical properties and spectral data.

RESULTTen compounds were isolated and identified as beta-sitosterol palmitate (1), isovanillin (2), glycol monopalmitate (3), hexacosanoic acid 2,3-dihydroxypropyl ester (4), maleimide-5-oxime (5), p-hydroxybenzaldehyde (6), adenine (7), 6-gingerol (8), 6-shogaol (9), and 1-(omega-ferulyloxyceratyl) glycerols (10a-10f).

CONCLUSIONCompounds 1-7 and 10a-10e are obtained from Z. officinale for the first time, and compound 10f is a new compound.

Background: Complementary and alternative medicine is becoming popular among Filipino patients. Ginger is one promising herbal plant in the management of musculoskeletal complaints. Studies showed significant reduction of the pain after oral intake of either ginger extract or tablet with reported occurrence of mild gastrointestinal side effects. Hence this study aimed to assess the effectiveness of using 10% ginger ointment as a treatment for acute musculoskeletal pain. Objective: This study determined the effectiveness and safety profile of topical application of ginger ointment as compared to a placebo ointment in the reduction of pain severity in patients with musculoskeletal complaints. Subjects and Setting: The study participants consisted of adults aged 19-59 years old who have acute musculoskeletal pain. The study was done in Canossa Health and Social Center in Tondo, Manila. Design: Ginger ointment was compared to a placebo ointment in 60 patients with acute musculoskeletal complaints in a single blinded randomized controlled trial. Study participants were randomized into two groups of thirty (N=30), the experimental group (ginger) and the placebo group. Data Collection: The clinical assessment included a visual analog scale (VAS) for pain at baseline, 30 minutes and 60 minutes after intervention. Paracetamol and diclofenac tablets were prescribed as rescue medication. Reduction of pain was computed using mean, standard deviation and groups were compared using students’ t-test. The frequency of the adverse reaction to the ointment was summarized using cross tabulations. Results: There was decrease in the severity of the pain reported by study participants for both ginger and placebo ointment. At 60 minutes post-intervention, a greater decrease on pain scores among participants receiving the ginger ointment (X=1.37; SD+1.22) was noted compared to the participants receiving placebo ointment (X=2.07; SD+1.90). However, the differences between intervention groups were not statistically significant, p>0.05. There were no reported adverse reactions for both intervention groups. Conclusion Ginger ointment 10% was not effective in decreasing pain scores when compared to placebo ointment. No adverse event was reported within 60 mins of intervention among adult patients with musculoskeletal complaints.
Humans ; Ginger ; Acetaminophen ; Ointments

A simple out-patient's procedure with the use of a simple 17 or 18G hypodermic needle for the percutaneous release of trigger finger is described. The authors are reporting the satisfactory result obtained by means of percutaneous release of tendon sheath without skin incision in 21 trigger fingers of 17 patients treated at the out-patient-basis.
Fingers ; Ginger ; Humans ; Needles ; Skin ; Tendons

The potential ability of ginger bioactive compounds in increasing the ratio of T-cell surface molecules of CD3+CD4+:CD3+CD8+ was investigated using dual tagging FITC and PE of monoclonal antibody anti-human with its fluorescence measured by flow cytometer. Oleoresin was extracted using sinkhole distillation technique. Its components namely, gingerol in fraction-1, shogaol in fraction 2 and zingeron in fraction-3 were separated by column vacuum chromatography method. The doses of oleoresin, gingerol, shogaol, and zingeron tested were 50, 100,150, 200, and 250 μg/ml. Lymphocytes (2x106 cell/ml) from human peripheral blood were isolated using ficoll density gradient technique, and cultured in the presence of the compounds in RPMI-1640 medium and phytohemaglutinin (PHA) mitogen for 96 h under normal conditions. Percentages of T-cell surface molecules (CD4+ and CD8+) were determined using dual-tagging FITC and PE fluorescents labeled on monoclonal antibody anti human. The fluorescence-labeled bands on the T-cell surface molecules were counted using flow cytometer. The experiment revealed that oleoresin and its three fractions increased the percentage of CD3+CD4+. The compound in fraction 3 of oleoresin at 200 μg/ml increased by the highest percentage of CD3+CD4+ of 9%, but slightly decreased the percentage of CD3+CD8+. These ginger bioactive compounds increased the ratio of CD3+CD4:CD3+CD8+ T-cells with the highest increment of 30% from effects of 200 μg/ml fraction 3 of oleoresin. This in vitro finding revealed that ginger bioactive compounds potentially increased cellular and humoral immune response. Further clinical studies are needed to confirm the benefits of these ginger bioactive compounds as a potential functional food for testing on HIV infected patients.
Antigens, CD3 ; Antigens, CD4 ; Ginger extract ; Antigens, CD8 ; T-Lymphocytes

Aiming to solve the poor compactibility of the alcoholic extract of Zingiberis Rhizoma(ZR), this study explored the feasibility of its physical modification using co-spray drying with a small amount of hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose(HPMC). Based on the univariate analysis, the influence of two independent variables(the HPMC content in the product and the solid content of spray material) on the powder properties and tablet properties of the dried product was investigated by the central composite design. With the tensile strength and disintegration time of the tablets as the evaluation indexes, the optimal prescription was determined as follows: the HPMC content was 15% and the solid content of spray material was 25.6%. The accuracy of the regression model established for predicting tensile strength and disintegration time of tablets was verified, and the results revealed that the measured values were close to the predicted ones with deviations of 0.47% and-8.2%, indicating good prediction and reproducibility of the model. The tensile strength(4.24 MPa) of tablets prepared with the optimal prescription was 3.59 times that(1.18 MPa, far lower than the baseline of 2 MPa for qualified tablets) with the spray-dried powder of the ZR. On the other hand, due to the addition of HPMC, the disintegration time of tablets increased from 7.3 min to 24.6 min. On the whole, this study provided a new strategy to solve the common problem of poor compactibility of raw Chinese medicinal materials, which facilitated the successful preparation of Chinese medicinal tablets with high drug loads.
Ginger ; Plant Extracts ; Reproducibility of Results ; Rhizome ; Spray Drying

This study aimed to investigate the impact of ginger juice on chemical profile of Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex(MOC) when they were processed together. Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole-orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry(UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS) was used for qualitative analysis of the chemical component of MOC samples before and after being processed with ginger juice. UPLC was performed to observe the content variation of eight main components in processed MOC. A total of 174 compounds were identified or tentatively deduced from processed and unprocessed MOC samples according to MS data obtained in positive and negative ion mode. After MOC was processed with ginger juice, the peak areas of most phenolics increased, while the peak areas of most phenylethanoid glycosides decreased; as for neolignans, oxyneolignans, other lignans and alkaloids, changes in the peak area were variable, and the peak areas of terpenoid-lignans varied little. Additionally, gingerols and diarylheptanoids were only detected in the processed MOC sample. The contents of syringin, magnoloside A, and magnoloside B decreased significantly in the processed MOC sample while no significant difference was observed in the contents of magnoflorine, magnocurarine, honokiol, obovatol, and magnolol. This study comprehensively explored the content variation of chemical components in processed and unprocessed MOC samples derived from different regions and with different tree ages using UPLC and UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS, and summarized the variation characteristics of various compounds. The results provide a data foundation for further research on pharmacodynamic substances of MOC processed with ginger juice.
Ginger ; Trees ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods* ; Alkaloids ; Lignans/analysis*

PURPOSE: Ginger (Zingiber officinale) has been widely used as an antiemetic agent. This systematic review was aimed at evaluation of the effect of dried ginger powder supplementation on improvement of nausea and vomiting associated with early pregnancy or motion sickness. METHODS: We searched Pubmed, Cochrane, Science Direct, and KISS (Korean studies Information Service System) using keywords such as ginger or Zingiber officinale in combination with nausea, vomiting, motion sickness, or pregnancy, published in March 2013. RESULTS: The strength of the evidence was evaluated on the selected 12 RCTs (randomized controlled trials). Eleven trials including 2,630 subjects showed that supplementation with dried ginger powder resulted in significant improvement of nausea or vomiting related to early pregnancy or motion sickness. Among the nine studies including 809 women in early pregnancy before 20 weeks of gestation, ginger supplementation was superior to placebo in five studies (n = 305), and as effective as positive control (vitamin B6 or dimenhydrinate) in four studies (n = 504). Ginger intake significantly reduced the episodes or severity of vomiting related to motion sickness compared to placebo or showed the same effect as several antiemetic drugs in two studies (n = 1,821). CONCLUSION: Our findings added evidence indicating that ginger powder supplements might improve the symptoms of nausea or vomiting related to early pregnancy or motion sickness without significant adverse events.
Antiemetics ; Female ; Ginger* ; Humans ; Information Services ; Morning Sickness ; Motion Sickness* ; Nausea* ; Pregnancy* ; Vomiting*

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of (6)-gingerol, ginger components proliferation and adipocyte differentiation from early to lately steps. METHODS: 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were cultured. Differentiation of confluent cells was induced with dexamethasone, isobutylxanthin and insulin for 2 day and cells were cultured by medium with insulin in presence of various concentrations 0, 25, 50, 100 (micromol/L) of (6)-gingerol for 4 day. Cell viability was measured using the EZ Cytox assay kit. In addition, we examined the expression of mRNA levels associated with each adipocyte differentiation step by real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: (6)-Gingerol inhibited adipocyte proliferation in a dose and time dependent manner. Expression of C/EBPbeta, associated with early differentiation step remained unchaged. However, intermmediate, late differentiation step and adipocytokines were effectively changed in dose-dependently manner in cell groups treated with (6)-gingerol. CONCLUSION: This study has shown that treatment with (6)-gingerol inhibited adipocyte proliferation as well as each adipocyte differentiation step. In particular, the (6)-gingerol more effectively inhibited adipocyte differentiation from intermmediate differentiation step.
Adipocytes* ; Adipokines ; Cell Survival ; Dexamethasone ; Ginger* ; Insulin ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Reverse Transcription ; RNA, Messenger

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the health hazards in the underground storage facilities of ginger roots. METHODS: The authors reviewed the emergency rescue records from the Seosan fire department over the period Jan 1, 1996 to Aug 31, 1999. The atmospheres in 3 different underground storage locations were analyzed for O2, CO2, CO, H2S and NH4. RESULTS: From the emergency records, we were able to identify 20 individuals that had been exposed to occupational hazards in the underground storage facilities. Among these 20 cases, 13 were due to asphyxiation (resulting in 7 deaths) and 7 were due to falls. In the first atmospheric tests, performed on Feb 25, 1998, the O2 level inside the underground storage facility, located about 5~6 meters below the surface, was 20.6% and the CO2 level was about 1,000 ppm. CO, H2S and NH4 were not detected. In the second tests on Jul 6, 1999, measurements of the O2 level at 3 meters below the surface in two different storage locations were 15.3 and 15.1%. And the O2 levels inside the storage facilities were 12.2 and 12.1%. The CO2 level was above 5,000 ppm (beyond upper limits of measurement). CO, H2S and NH4 were not detected. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that asphyxiation in the underground storage facilities for ginger roots was not due to the presence of toxic gases such as CO, H2S and NH4, but rather the exclusion of oxygen by carbon dioxide was responsible for causing casualties. For the development of a hazard free working environment, safety education as well as improvements in storage methods are needed.
Accidental Falls ; Asphyxia ; Atmosphere ; Carbon Dioxide ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Education ; Emergencies ; Fires ; Gases ; Ginger* ; Oxygen ; Rural Health

OBJECTIVETo measure the threshold of feeling temperature, comfortable temperature and tolerant temperature to ginger-partition moxibustion and suspended moxibustion at different acupoints of healthy persons, and to instruct the clinical practice of moxibustion better.

METHODSForty-three healthy students were divided into a ginger-partition moxibustion group (22 cases) and a suspended moxibustion group (21 cases) randomly. Shenshu (BL 23), Zhongwan (CV 12), Zusanli (ST 36) and Waiguan (TE 5) were used in both groups. The feeling temperature, comfortable temperature and tolerant temperature in each group were measured by thermometer. SPSS 18.0 was used to analyze the data.

RESULTSThe feeling temperature, comfortable temperature and tolerant temperature rose in proper order and the difference was significant (all P < 0.05). The tolerant temperature of suspended moxibustion group ((40.69 +/- 1.85) degrees C) was lower than that of ginger-partition moxibustion group ((42.44 +/- 3.90) degrees C) (P < 0.05). The feeling temperature of ginger-partition moxibustion at Shengshu (BL 23) was 4-5 degrees C lower than that at other acupoints.

CONCLUSIONThe heat sensations of different acupoints to ginger partition moxibustion and suspended moxibustion are different at different stages. The threshold of heat sensation of ginger-partition moxibustion is higher than that of suspended moxibustion. There is a best temperature zone for moxibustion which is a little higher than normal temperature between comfortable temperature and tolerant temperature. To improve effect, doctors should try to prolong the effective time of this zone in clinic. As the limiting temperature of patients, tolerant temperature can provide reference for the use of moxibustion safely in clinic.