Zingiber Officinale Alters 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine-Induced Neurotoxicity in Rat Brain

OBJECTIVE

The spice Zingiber officinale or ginger possesses antioxidant activity and neuroprotective effects. The effects of this traditional herbal medicine on 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) induced neurotoxicity have not yet been studied. The present study considers the effects of Zingiber officinale on MDMA-induced spatial memory impairment and apoptosis in the hippocampus of male rats.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this experimental study, 21 adult male Sprague Dawley rats (200-250 g) were classified into three groups (control, MDMA, and MDMA plus ginger). The groups were intraperitoneally administered 10 mg/kg MDMA, 10 mg/kg MDMA plus 100 mg/kg ginger extract, or 1 cc/kg normal saline as the control solution for one week (n=7 per group). Learning memory was assessed by Morris water maze (MWM) after the last administration. Finally, the brains were removed to study the cell number in the cornu ammonis (CA1) hippocampus by light microscope, Bcl-2 by immunoblotting, and Bax expression by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Data was analyzed using SPSS 16 software and a one-way ANOVA test.

RESULTS

Escape latency and traveled distances decreased significantly in the MDMA plus ginger group relative to the MDMA group (p<0.001). Cell number increased in the MDMA plus ginger group in comparison to the MDMA group. Down-regulation of Bcl-2 and up-regulation of Bax were observed in the MDMA plus ginger group in comparison to the MDMA group (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that ginger consumption may lead to an improvement of MDMA-induced neurotoxicity.

The effects of ginger on gallbladder motility in healthy male humans

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Ginger has been used to treat a number of diseases including those affecting the digestive tract. This study was aimed to investigate the effects of ginger on gallbladder volume and gastrointestinal sensation in healthy male subjects.

METHODS

Nineteen healthy male volunteers (age 21.3 ± 3.9 years, body mass index 21.6 ± 1.9 kg/m(2)) were studied on 2 occasions in a double blind randomized crossover design. After ingesting ginger (1,200 mg) or placebo capsules (starch), abdominal ultrasound was used to measure the gallbladder volume (calculated from gallbladder width, depth and diameter) and ejection fraction following a standard test meal. Gastrointestinal symptoms were also recorded at regular intervals by visual analogue scales.

RESULTS

There were no differences in gallbladder volume or ejection fraction between ginger and placebo. Abdominal symptoms of bloating, fullness, nausea, discomfort and hunger was not different between the 2 occasions.

CONCLUSIONS

Ginger (1,200 mg) may not affect gallbladder ejection fraction and possible relevant abdominal symptoms in healthy male human subjects.

Subacute thyroiditis following ginger (Zingiber officinale) consumption

A woman with subacute thyroiditis following ginger consumption is presented. The diagnosis was confirmed by physical examination and laboratory tests, in two distinct episodes. The patient was cured and recommended to refuse ginger consumption.

Generation of autotetraploid plant of ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) and its quality evaluation

BACKGROUND

Zingiber officinale Rosc. is not only an important medical plant in China, but also one of the most commonly used plant spices around the world. Early researches in Z. officinale Rosc. were focused on rapid propagation, germplasm preservation, and somatic embryogenesis, only a few reports focused on the generation of tetraploid ginger plants with colchicines treatment in vitro.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The adventitious buds were submerged into different concentrations of colchicine water solution for different time to induce polyploid plants, and the induced buds were identified by root-tip chromosome determination and stomatal apparatus observation. Eighteen selected tetraploid lines were transferred to the field, and the leaf characteristics, rhizome yield, contents of volatile oil and gingerol were respectively evaluated to provide evidence of high-yield and good qualities of tetraploid ginger.

RESULTS

The induction rate reached as high as 33.3% of treated buds. More than 48 lines of autotetraploid plants were obtained. All tetraploid plants showed typical polyploidy characteristics. All of the 18 selected tetraploid lines possessed higher rhizome yield and overall productivity of volatile oil and gingerol than those of the control.

CONCLUSION

Five elite lines have been selected for further selection and breeding new varieties for commercial production in agricultural production.

Potential efficacy of ginger as a natural supplement for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common liver diseases and its prevalence is likely to reach epidemic proportions. According to the "two-stage hypothesis" proposed for the pathophysiology of NAFLD, insulin resistance, oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory cytokines are among the key promoters of the disease. Here, ginger has been hypothesized to prevent NAFLD or blunt its progression via several mechanisms, such as sensitizing insulin effects, activating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ which induces adiponectin and down-regulates pro-inflammatory cytokines, changing the balance between adiponectin and tumor necrosis factor-α in favor of adiponectin, promoting considerable antioxidant effects and antidyslipidemic properties, and reducing hepatic triglyceride content which can prevent steatosis. The aforementioned mechanisms imply that ginger possesses interesting potentials for serving as a natural supplement for the prevention and treatment of NAFLD. Therefore, conducting trials to explore its benefits in clinical practice is greatly recommended.

Evaluating the effect of zingiber officinalis on nausea and vomiting in patients receiving Cisplatin based regimens

Ginger, the rhizome of Zingiber officinalis, has long been used as herbal medicine for its antiemetic effect. For evaluating the effect of zingiber officinalis on nausea and vomiting (N and V) in patients receiving cisplatin based regimens, a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled cross-over clinical trial was carried out in patients receiving cisplatin in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents. The patients were randomly assigned to receive ginger capsules (rhizome of zingiber officinalis) or placebo in their first cycle of the study. All patients received standard antiemetics for chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). The patients were crossed-over to receive ginger or placebo in their next cycle of chemotherapy. Among 36 eligible patients who received both cycles of treatment, there were no difference in prevalence, severity, and duration of both acute and delayed N and V. Addition of ginger to the standard antiemetic regimen has shown no advantage in reducing acute and delayed N and V in patients with cisplatin-based regimen in this study.

Identification of single nucleotide polymorphism in ginger using expressed sequence tags

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc) (Family: Zingiberaceae) is a herbaceous perennial, the rhizomes of which are used as a spice. Ginger is a plant which is well known for its medicinal applications. Recently EST-derived SNPs are a free by-product of the currently expanding EST (Expressed Sequence Tag) databases. The development of high-throughput methods for the detection of SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) and small indels (insertion/deletion) has led to a revolution in their use as molecular markers. Available (38139) Ginger EST sequences were mined from dbEST of NCBI. CAP3 program was used to assemble EST sequences into contigs. Candidate SNPs and Indel polymorphisms were detected using the perl script AutoSNP version 1.0 which has used 31905 ESTs for detecting SNPs and Indel sites. We found 64026 SNP sites and 7034 indel polymorphisms with frequency of 0.84 SNPs / 100 bp. Among the three tissues from which the EST libraries had been generated, Rhizomes had high frequency of 1.08 SNPs/indels per 100 bp whereas the leaves had lowest frequency of 0.63 per 100 bp and root is showing relative frequency 0.82/100bp. Transitions and transversion ratio is 0.90. In overall detected SNP, transversion is high when compare to transition. These detected SNPs can be used as markers for genetic studies.

AVAILABILITY

The results of the present study hosted in our webserver www.spices.res.in/spicesnip.

Chemopreventive efficacy of ginger (Zingiber officinale) in ethionine induced rat hepatocarcinogenesis

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosco) is widely used in foods as a spice all around the world. It has been reported to have antioxidant and anticarcinogenic properties. We investigated the effect of ginger in ethionine induced rat hepatocarcinogenesis. Male Wistar rats were divided into 5 groups: group 1 and 2 served as controls and they received normal rat chow and olive oil respectively. Group 3 was fed with ginger oleoresin dissolved in olive oil at 100 mg/kg body wt. Group 4 was fed with choline deficient diet and 0.1% ethionine in drinking water (CDE diet), and group 5 received ginger with CDE diet. Blood samples were taken from the orbital sinus at 0 and 8 weeks of experiment for the determination of antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase and lipid peroxidation end product, malondialdehyde (MDA). Rats were also killed at 8 weeks for the observation of liver tumor formation. CDE diet induced the formation of liver nodules in rats and increased SOD activity. However, it had no effect on catalase, GPx and MDA levels when compared to both controls at 8 weeks of experiment. When CDE rats were treated with ginger, the formation of liver tumour, SOD activity and MDA level reduced, catalase activity was increased but no change was observed for GPx activity when compared to CDE group. In conclusion, ginger supplementation suppressed liver carcinogenesis by scavenging the free radical formation, and by reducing lipid peroxidation.

High-frequency in vitro multiplication of disease-free Zingiber officinale Rosc

High-frequency in vitro multiplication of disease-free clones of ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) was obtained by culturing small and active buds of ginger on MS medium supplemented with 2 mg/l Kin and 20 g/l sucrose. An average of 7.7 shoots per bud was obtained on this medium after 4 weeks of culture. A high multiplication rate of well-developed plantlets (7.0 shoots per bud) with a 6.8-cm shoot length and a 7.0-cm root length was also obtained on MS medium containing 2.0 mg Kin, 2.0 mg NAA and 20 g sucrose per liter. The multiplication rate did not decrease even up to 28 months of subculture on the same medium. A simple method of successfully transferring more than 95% of tissue-cultured plants into pots was also standardized. In vitro-derived plants performed well under field conditions, were morphologically identical to the mother plants and were free from ginger yellows (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. zingiberi). Well-developed rhizomes obtained from the tissue-cultured plants did not rot during storage of up to 6 months, thus indicating that the method is also effective in checking storage rot caused by F. oxysporum f. sp. zingiberi.