Natural food preservation with ginger essential oil: Biological properties and delivery systems

Recently, the increasing demand from consumers for preservative-free or naturally preserved foods has forced the food industry to turn to natural herbal and plant-derived preservatives rather than synthetic preservatives to produce safe foods. Essential oils derived from ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) are widely known for their putative health-promoting bioactivities, and this paper covers their extraction methods, chemical composition, and antibacterial and antioxidant activities. Especially, the paper reviews their potential applications in food preservation, including nanoemulsions, emulsions, solid particle encapsulation, and biodegradable food packaging films/coatings. The conclusion drawn is that ginger essential oil can be used not only for direct food preservation but also encapsulated using various delivery forms such as nanoemulsions, Pickering emulsions, and solid particle encapsulation to improve its release control ability. The film of encapsulated ginger essential oil has been proven to be superior to traditional methods in preserving foods such as bread, meat, fish, and fruit.

The Effects of Ginger (Zingiber Officinale Roscoe) on Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Randomized Double-Blinded Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a prominent etiological factor for liver cirrhosis worldwide. It is frequently associated with obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) supplementation in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who have NAFLD. In a two-arm, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, seventy-six patients diagnosed with both T2DM and NAFLD were randomly assigned to receive either ginger powder capsules (1000 mg, twice daily) or placebo capsules (administered in the same manner) for a period of three months. Anthropometric measurements, blood pressure readings, biochemical profiles, and imaging parameters were assessed before and after the intervention. Safety measures were also evaluated. In both the ginger and placebo groups, there was a significant reduction in mean body mass index (BMI), waist and hip circumferences, as well as liver transaminase levels. Moreover, significant improvements in mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures were observed in the ginger group (p = 0.02 and < 0.0001, respectively). Within the ginger group, there was a decrease in serum insulin levels and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (p = 0.002 and 0.004, respectively). Furthermore, the ginger group exhibited an improvement in serum HDL-cholesterol level (p = 0.01). However, there were no significant changes in the assessed inflammatory markers or the indices obtained from fibroscan imaging, including steatosis percent and controlled attenuation parameter. This study demonstrates that ginger supplementation can significantly improve mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures. However, it does not have a significant impact on inflammatory markers or fibroscan imaging indices. Nonetheless, the three-month use of ginger improves serum insulin level, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and HDL-cholesterol level compared to baseline values. Further investigations with longer durations and larger sample sizes are recommended.

Essential Oil of Zingiber cassumunar Roxb. and Zingiber officinale Rosc.: A Comparative Study on Chemical Constituents, Antibacterial Activity, Biofilm Formation, and Inhibition of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Quorum Sensing System

Pseudomonas aeruginosa can regulate its pathogenicity via quorum sensing (QS) system. Zingiber cassumunar and Z. officinale have been used for the treatment of infectious diseases. The study aimed to evaluate and compare the chemical constituents, antibacterial, and QS inhibitor of Z. cassumunar essential oils (ZCEO) and Z. officinale essential oils (ZOEO). The chemical constituent was analysed using GC/MS. Broth microdilution and spectrophotometry analysis were used to evaluate their antibacterial and QS inhibitor activities. The main constituent of ZOEO with percent composition above 6 % (α-curcumene, α-zingiberene, β-sesquiphellandrene, and β-bisabolene, α-citral, and α-farnesene) were exist in a very minimal percentage less than 0.7 % in Z. cassumunar. All major components of ZCEO with percentages higher than 5 % (terpinen-4-ol, sabinene, γ-terpinene) were present in low proportion (<1.18 %) in Z. officinale. ZCEO demonstrated moderate antibacterial activity against P. aeruginosa. The combination of ZCEO and tetracycline showed a synergistic effect (FICI of 0.5). ZCEO exhibited strong activity in inhibiting biofilm formation. ZCEO at1 / 2 ${{ 1/2 }}$ MIC (62.5 μg/mL) was able to reduce pyoverdine, pyocyanin, and proteolytic activity. This is the first report on the activity of ZCEO in the inhibition of P. aeruginosa QS system and it may be used to control the pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa.

Phytochemical Constituents and Antiproliferative Activities of Essential Oils from Four Varieties of Malaysian Zingiber officinale Roscoe against Human Cervical Cancer Cell Line

This study evaluates the volatile metabolic constituents and anticancer potential of essential oils distilled from the rhizomes of four Malaysian Zingiber officinale Roscoe (Zingiberaceae family) varieties (Bentong (BE), Cameron Highlands (CH), Sabah (SA), and Bara (BA)). The ginger essential oils were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC qMS). A total of 58 secondary compounds were tentatively identified, representing 82.6–87.4% of the total ion count. These metabolites comprise mainly of monoterpene hydrocarbons (19.7–25.5%), oxygenated monoterpenes (23.6–33.7%), sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (21.3–35.6%), oxygenated sesquiterpenes (1.5–3.9%), and other minor classes of compounds (0.7–2.7%). Principal component analysis (PCA) enabled differentiation of the analyzed ginger essential oils according to their varieties, with respect to their metabolites and relative quantities. The antiproliferative activity against the HeLa cervical cancer cell line was investigated via the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The oils were found to exhibit strong antiproliferative activities with IC₅₀ values of 23.8, 35.3, 41.3, and 42.5 μg/mL for BA, BE, SA, and CH, respectively. These findings suggest that the differences among the secondary metabolites and their abundance in different varieties of Z. officinale essential oils appear to be related to their antiproliferative potential. The strong antiproliferative effects of these oils signified their potential in the prevention and chemotherapy of cervical carcinoma treatment.

Pharmacology and Phytochemistry of Ecuadorian Medicinal Plants: An Update and Perspectives

The use of plants as therapeutic agents is part of the traditional medicine that is practiced by many indigenous communities in Ecuador. The aim of this study was to update a review published in 2016 by including the studies that were carried out in the period 2016–July 2021 on about 120 Ecuadorian medicinal plants. Relevant data on raw extracts and isolated secondary metabolites were retrieved from different databases, resulting in 104 references. They included phytochemical and pharmacological studies on several non-volatile compounds, as well as the chemical composition of essential oils (EOs). The tested biological activities are also reported. The potential of Ecuadorian plants as sources of products for practical applications in different fields, as well the perspectives of future investigations, are discussed in the last part of the review.

Preparation and Characterization of Ginger Essential Oil Microcapsule Composite Films

New food packaging has shown research significance in the face of increasing demand for high-quality foods and growing attention paid to food safety. In this study, ginger essential oil microcapsule composite films were prepared by combining microcapsules prepared by a complex coacervation method with gelatin films, and the mechanical properties and active functions of the composite films were analyzed. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry confirmed the successful encapsulation of ginger essential oil. The scanning electron microscopy of the composite films showed the microcapsules and gelatin film matrix were highly compatible. During the entire storage period, the antioxidant capacity of the ginger essential oil microcapsule films weakened more slowly than ginger essential oil microcapsules and could be maintained at a relatively high level for a long time. The microcapsule films had excellent inhibitory effects on Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus subtilis. Therefore, the direct addition of microcapsules to a film matrix can broaden the application range of microcapsules and increase the duration of the release of active ingredients. Ginger essential oil microcapsule films are potential biodegradable food packaging films with long-lasting activity.

Antioxidant, Antimicrobial and Antiviral Properties of Herbal Materials

Recently, increasing public concern about hygiene has been driving many studies to investigate antimicrobial and antiviral agents. However, the use of any antimicrobial agents must be limited due to their possible toxic or harmful effects. In recent years, due to previous antibiotics' lesser side effects, the use of herbal materials instead of synthetic or chemical drugs is increasing. Herbal materials are found in medicines. Herbs can be used in the form of plant extracts or as their active components. Furthermore, most of the world's populations used herbal materials due to their strong antimicrobial properties and primary healthcare benefits. For example, herbs are an excellent material to replace nanosilver as an antibiotic and antiviral agent. The use of nanosilver involves an ROS-mediated mechanism that might lead to oxidative stress-related cancer, cytotoxicity, and heart diseases. Oxidative stress further leads to increased ROS production and also delays the cellular processes involved in wound healing. Therefore, existing antibiotic drugs can be replaced with biomaterials such as herbal medicine with high antimicrobial, antiviral, and antioxidant activity. This review paper highlights the antibacterial, antiviral, and radical scavenger (antioxidant) properties of herbal materials. Antimicrobial activity, radical scavenger ability, the potential for antimicrobial, antiviral, and anticancer agents, and efficacy in eliminating bacteria and viruses and scavenging free radicals in herbal materials are discussed in this review. The presented herbal antimicrobial agents in this review include clove, portulaca, tribulus, eryngium, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, thyme, pennyroyal, mint, fennel, chamomile, burdock, eucalyptus, primrose, lemon balm, mallow, and garlic, which are all summarized.

Ginger Beer: An Overview of Health Benefits and Recent Developments

Since time immemorial, ginger has been widely used as a food spice, providing aromatic odor and pungent taste, and as a medicinal plant, with various therapeutic effects such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic, among others. It has long been an integral constituent of most herbal medicines in Africa, China and India. Its medicinal properties are largely attributed to its outstanding amount of phenolics which include gingerols, paradols, zingerones, and many others. With consumer preference gradually and remarkably shifting from high-calorie towards low-calorie and functional beverages, the demand for ginger beer is flourishing at a faster rate. Currently, the ginger beer market is dominated by the United States. The demand for ginger beer is, however, debilitated by using artificial ingredients. Nonetheless, the use of natural ginger extract enriches beer with putative bioactive phytoconstituents such as shagaol, gingerone, zingerone, ginger flavonoids and essential oils, as well as essential nutritional components including proteins, vitamins and minerals, to promote general wellbeing of consumer. This paper presents an overview of the phytoconstituents of ginger as well as the overall biological activities they confer to the consumer. In addition, the market trend as well as the production technology of ginger beer using natural ginger extract is described here.

Essential Oils of Zingiber Species from Vietnam: Chemical Compositions and Biological Activities

Mosquito-borne diseases are a large problem in Vietnam as elsewhere. Due to environmental concerns regarding the use of synthetic insecticides as well as developing insecticidal resistance, there is a need for environmentally-benign alternative mosquito control agents. In addition, resistance of pathogenic microorganisms to antibiotics is an increasing problem. As part of a program to identify essential oils as alternative larvicidal and antimicrobial agents, the leaf, stem, and rhizome essential oils of several Zingiber species, obtained from wild-growing specimens in northern Vietnam, were acquired by hydrodistillation and investigated using gas chromatography. The mosquito larvicidal activities of the essential oils were assessed against Culex quinquefasciatus, Aedes albopictus, and Ae. aegypti, and for antibacterial activity against a selection of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and for activity against Candida albicans. Zingiber essential oils rich in α-pinene and β-pinene showed the best larvicidal activity. Zingiber nudicarpum rhizome essential oil showed excellent antibacterial activity against Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of 2, 8, and 1 μg/mL, respectively. However, the major components, α-pinene and β-pinene, cannot explain the antibacterial activities obtained.

An Off-Line DPPH-GC-MS Coupling Countercurrent Chromatography Method for Screening, Identification, and Separation of Antioxidant Compounds in Essential Oil

Essential oils are an important source of natural antioxidants and multiple methods have been established for evaluation of their overall antioxidant activity, however, the antioxidant activities of their compounds are less investigated. In the present study, the hyphenation of 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)-gas chromatography (GC)-mass spectrometry (MS) offline and high-speed countercurrent chromatography (HSCCC) is established for efficient screening, identification, and isolation of antioxidants from essential oils and applied to the essential oil of Curcuma wenyujin Y.H. Chen et C. Ling. Five compounds are preliminarily screened as antioxidants using DPPH-GC according to the reduction of GC peak areas of each compound after reaction with DPPH and then identified as eucalyptol (7.66%), camphor (2.34%), δ-elemene (1.15%), β-elemene (7.10%), and curzerene (15.77%) using GC-MS. Moreover, these five compounds are isolated by HSCCC using two solvent systems, n-hexane-acetonitrile-ethanol (5:3:2, v/v) and n-hexane-acetonitrile-acetone (4:3:1, v/v), and subjected to DPPH scavenging assay. Camphor, δ-elemene, and β-elemene show weak DPPH scavenging activity, while curzerene and eucalyptol show moderate DPPH scavenging activity. Notably, a significant synergistic effect on DPPH scavenging is found between curzerene and eucalyptol. The result demonstrated that off-line DPPH-GC-MS coupling CCC is an efficient method for screening, identification, and separation of antioxidant compounds in essential oil

Promotion of Mitochondrial Biogenesis via Activation of AMPK-PGC1ɑ Signaling Pathway by Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) Extract, and Its Major Active Component 6-Gingerol

Several studies indicated that ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) enhances thermogenesis and/or energy expenditure with which to interpret the beneficial effects of ginger on metabolic disorders. It is well known that mitochondrial activity plays an essential role in these processes. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effect of ginger extract (GE) and its major components, 6-gingerol and 6-shogaol, on mitochondrial biogenesis and the underlying molecular mechanisms. Our results showed that GE at dose of 2 g/kg promoted oxygen consumption and intrascapular temperature in mice. The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number in muscle and liver increased. Expression levels of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) related proteins and AMP-activated protein kinase ɑ/proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1 ɑ (AMPK/PGC1ɑ) signaling related proteins in the muscle, liver, and brown adipose tissue (BAT) increased as well. In HepG2 cells, GE at concentration of 2.5 and 5 mg/mL increased mitochondrial mass and mtDNA copy number. GE promoted ATP production, the activities of mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I and IV, and expression levels of OXPHOS complex related proteins and AMPK/PGC1ɑ signaling related proteins. The antagonist of AMPK eliminated partly the effect of GE on mitochondrial biogenesis. 6-Gingerol increased mitochondrial mass, mtDNA copy number and ATP production, and the activities of mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes in HepG2 cells as well. However, both 6-gingerol at high concentration of 200 µM and 6-shogaol at 10 to 200 µM inhibited cell viability. In conclusion, GE promoted mitochondrial biogenesis and improved mitochondrial functions via activation of AMPK-PGC1ɑ signaling pathway, and 6-gingerol other than 6-shogaol, may be the main active component. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) is a food seasoning and also used as a medical plant in alternative medicine throughout the world. Here, we demonstrated that ginger extract (GE) promoted mitochondrial biogenesis and mitochondrial function via activation of AMPK-PGC1ɑ signaling pathway both in mice and in HepG2 cells, and 6-gingerol may be its main active component. Ginger, with anticipated safety, is expected to be a long-term used dietary supplement and be developed into a new remedy for mitochondrial dysfunctional disorders.

Chemical Analysis of Red Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe var rubrum) Essential Oil and Its Anti-biofilm Activity against Candida albicans

Biofilm formation is one of the virulence factors of Candida albicans, contributing to the development of resistance to various antifungal drugs. In order to combat resistant microbes such as C. albicans, the discovery and development of antifungal substances must explore the anti-biofilm activity of substances, which are extracted from traditional medicinal plants widely available in tropical countries such as Indonesia. One of the natural ingredients that can be developed is red ginger. This plant has been used empirically in the treatment of various infectious diseases, including fungal infections. The aim of this study is to determine the composition of chemical compounds in the essential oil of the red ginger rhizomes planted in Aceh, Indonesia and the anti-biofilm activity of the essential oil against C. albicans, isolated from a clinical sample. The chemical analysis of the essential oil was performed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrophotometry (GC-MS). Anti-biofilm activity was observed through biofilm inhibition and degradation activities, determined by Cristal Violet assay. Data were analyzed using ANOVA test and Duncan's post hoc test with 99% CI. The GC-MS results showed that the essential oil used in this study contained high monoterpenes (60.55%) which is dominated by E-citral/geranial (11.97%) and 1.8 - cineole (15.10%). The highest sesquiterpenes derivative was αr-curcumene (16.86%). The significant inhibition of C. albicans biofilm formation was obtained at a concentration of 0.5% and the biofilm degradation was obtained at a concentration of 0.125%. The data indicates that the high monoterpenoids-red ginger essential oil used in this study has performed significant anti-biofilm activity against C. albicans.

Evaluation of the antioxidant impact of ginger-based kombucha on the murine breast cancer model

Background Abnormal metabolism is a common event in cancerous cells. For example, the increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, particularly due to aerobic respiration during invasive stage, results in cancer progression. Herein, the impact of kombucha tea prepared from ginger on the alteration of antioxidant agents was assessed in the breast cancer animal model. Methods Two types of kombucha tea with or without ginger were administered to BALB/c mice before and after tumor challenge. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were evaluated in tumor, liver and kidney. Results Administration of kombucha ginger tea significantly decreased catalase activity as well as GSH and MDA level in tumor homogenate (p<0.001). A significant decrease in SOD activity and increase in MDA quantity was determined in the kidney which had received kombucha ginger tea (p<0.01). Conclusions The consumption of kombucha prepared from ginger could exert minor antioxidant impacts by balancing multi antioxidant factors in different tissues in the breast cancer models.

Influence of Thermal Processing and in vitro Digestion on the Antioxidant Potential of Ginger and Ginger Containing Products

Zingiber officinale (Zingiberaceae) is a common spice and a medicine widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical climate around the globe, which contains both precious polyphenols and terpenes in its extracts. The ubiquity of ginger in a variety of foods encouraged the authors to assess the influence of thermal processing and digestion of the plant material on its antioxidant capacity. The obtained results of DPPH assay showed marked differences in the antioxidant potential of the processed samples, in comparison with fresh ginger rhizomes. Autoclave and microwave heating procedures were found to evoke the mildest decomposition of the antioxidants and increase the antioxidant capacity of the plant (from IC50 of 210±10 for a fresh rhizome to ca 160±16 μg/mL for the former, and to 150±18 for the latter technique), whereas frying and boiling for different durations significantly deteriorated the antiradical potential up to IC50 = 940±36 μg/mL. Mouth and stomach digestion decreased the antioxidant potential of the extracts even to ca. 1000±47 μg/mL. A protective role of saliva towards the antioxidant compounds against hydrochloric acid and pepsin activities has been proven. A marked deterioration in antioxidant capacity in digested rhizomes may shed new light on the actual absorption of consumed polyphenols with food products.