Product name |
Ginger Extract |
Latin Name |
Zingiber Officinale Rosc. |
Active ingredients |
Gingerol |
synonyms |
Jiang |
Appearance |
Yellow fine powder |
Part used |
Rhizome |
Specification |
Gingerols 5%-10%HPLC/200:1 TLC |
Dosage |
500-1000mg daily |
Main benefits |
Anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, anticancer, anti-inflammation |
Applied industries |
Medicine, food additive, dietary supplement |
What is Ginger Extract?
Ginger, or Zingiber officinale, is a creeping perennial indigenous to tropical Asia and other tropical areas, including Jamaica, and is cultivated in the United States, India, and China. The name generally refers to the fresh or dried, whole or powdered rhizome of the plant. Although it is often called ginger root, it is not a root. Turmeric is in the same family.
The plant's stalk grows to a height of 3 to 4 feet (90 to 120 cm). It produces flowers that are white with purple streaks or yellowish in color, and they grow on spikes at the end of the stems that grow from the rhizome.
The taste is described as fiery and pungent, and rates seven of ten on the hotness scale. It is closely associated with gingerbread, cake, cookies, pie, sausage, and curry. It is sometimes called for in Jamaican jerk paste, and it is used in Chinese Kung pao. When sliced and pickled, it is used to clear the palate between different pieces of sushi.
Ginger is used in a number of different beverages and can be made into a tisane, made by boiling pieces of the rhizome for several minutes. Ginger ale and beer both got their names from this important ingredient. Dried, it is one of the ingredients in the French four-spice mixture called quatre épices, along with nutmeg, white pepper, and cloves. It's also used in Indian curry powders and Chinese five spice powder.
Chemical constituents of Ginger Extract
Ginger can be divided into four principle parts: taste or pungency, essential oil or fragrance, macro/micro-nutrients, and synergists. An oily-resinous substance dissected from the plant comprising 5 to 10 percent of the plant is called ginerol.4
This oleoresin was then broken down into close to thirty elements. Gingerols or zingiberene may be responsible for taste and scent respectively. In fact, within ginger there are hundreds of ingredients that are referred to as synergists. These interact to make the plant as a whole the powerful healer that it is.
There may be dozens of different complex chemical interactions allowing ginger to prevent or benefit conditions like heart attacks, arthritis and ulcers. There are more than four hundred taste, fragrance, nutrient and synergistic constituents interacting to create an endless number of medicinal benefits.
One gram of one of ginger’s principle constituent, zingibain, can actually tenderize as much as twenty pounds of meat. The obvious impact or effect is improved digestion. This enzyme can enhance the effectiveness of other antibacterial elements by as much as 50%. The enzyme zingibain can aid immunity to the effect of digesting parasites and their eggs, and is associated with anti-inflammatory activity. This is due in part to the fact that ginger acts as an antioxidant with more than twelve constituents superior to vitamin E.5 This action empowers ginger to help neutralize free radicals which are widely recognized as participation or being responsible for the inflammation process.
Each of ginger’s 477 constituents could be listed. This impressive list includes the well known ascorbic acid, caffeic acid, capsaicin, beta-sitosterol, beta-carotene, curcumin, lecithin, limonene, selenium and tryptophan. It is nothing less than an exercise in complete and utter futility to try and isolate the “active” element from ginger.
Benefits of taking Ginger Extract supplements:
In general, Ginger has natural sedative, analgesic and carminative properties, which is why it is used as a traditional treatment or as home remedies for headaches, common flu, painful menstrual periods, vomiting, cough and colds as well as food poisoning. It can also help in reducing the pain caused by osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis by lowering the level of inflammation.
Some studies showed that powdered ginger can help reduce the symptoms of motion sickness better than placebo does. It was also found out that pregnant women who drink at least one gram of ginger daily were able to find relief from morning sicknesses, like vomiting and nausea. But, it is highly-advised that pregnant women should consult their physicians prior to drinking ginger. Also, they should not drink more than one gram of ginger extract every day.
A certain study also proved that a component of ginger is able to stop as well as slow down the growth of several types of cancer metastasis. Ginger extract can kill ovarian and colorectal cancer cells, thus making it a good source of cure for colon and ovarian cancers. In addition to this, ginger is also capable of killing 5-LO enzymes and the absence of this kind of enzyme will cause the prostate cancer cells to die.
It can also help reduce the risk of diabetic nephropathy or kidney damage. It was also found that drinking ginger extract helps fight Alzheimer’s disease.
Some researchers also found that ginger is capable of stopping prostaglandins from causing inflammation and pain in the blood vessels, thus it is able to relieve migraine, muscle and joint injuries.
For those who underwent surgery, they can also experience the positive effects of ginger extract. One gram of ginger root extract can help reduce vomiting and nausea, which usually occurs after a surgery.
Furthermore, ginger extract can also help prevent the formation of blood clots by lowering the body’s cholesterol level, thus in turn helps in the treatment of heart diseases.
On the other hand, ginger when used in the form of tea is effective in treating menstrual cramps, upset stomachs, heartburns, coughing, sore throats, blocked nasal passages, itchiness and congestions due to colds.
Although ginger extracts or any other herb of its kind are good in strengthening the body and in fighting diseases, they also have possible yet rare side effects especially when they are being interacted with other medications, herbs and supplements.
Side effects and safety of Ginger Extract
It is definitely recommended to take this type of medication under the guidance of a qualified health care provider who is knowledgeable in botanical medicine. An acute ginger overdose can cause ginger intoxication or ginger jitters, which is the result of the over-stimulation of the nervous system. It can also cause an irritation in the mouth area. It may also trigger an allergic reaction in the form of rash, belching and heartburn. To avoid these side effects you may opt to drink ginger supplements in capsule form.
Those with gallstones should get their doctors permission prior to taking ginger, this is because ginger has the ability to promote the production of bile. They must also inform their doctors that they are using ginger extract as a supplement if they are to undergo a surgery or will be injected with anesthesia. Ginger and anesthesia might have a not-so-good interaction that may hinder the pain-killing effects of anesthesia to be ineffective.
Pregnant women and those who are lactating must also ask their doctors if they’d be allowed to drink ginger.
Those who are taking blood-thinning medications like aspirin as well as those who have bleeding disorders must not take ginger. Ginger might increase the risk of bleeding and interfere with the blood clotting process.
Diabetic patients who are undergoing medications must not use ginger because it has the capacity of lowering the body blood sugar and might cause the patient to suffer from hypoglycemia.
Hypertensive people who are drinking high blood pressure medicines are also advised not to drink ginger extracts since it might lower the blood pressure to the point that it might cause irregular heartbeat and hypotension (low blood pressure).
Given these facts about the uses and effects of ginger extract to the human body we can now effectively use ginger extract to improve our health conditions, especially those who are suffering from severe illnesses like cancer or diabetes. This can also help us save on our medicine cost since ginger can be bought at a cheap price in markets. It is also easy to prepare and it tastes good, too.