Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 May 30;8(6):185.
doi: 10.3390/foods8060185.

Bioactive Compounds and Bioactivities of Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe)

Qian-Qian Mao  1 , Xiao-Yu Xu  2 , Shi-Yu Cao  3 , Ren-You Gan  4 , Harold Corke  5 , Trust Beta  6   7 , Hua-Bin Li  8
Affiliations
Review

Bioactive Compounds and Bioactivities of Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe)

Qian-Qian Mao et al. Foods. .

Abstract

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) is a common and widely used spice. It is rich in various chemical constituents, including phenolic compounds, terpenes, polysaccharides, lipids, organic acids, and raw fibers. The health benefits of ginger are mainly attributed to its phenolic compounds, such as gingerols and shogaols. Accumulated investigations have demonstrated that ginger possesses multiple biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anticancer, neuroprotective, cardiovascular protective, respiratory protective, antiobesity, antidiabetic, antinausea, and antiemetic activities. In this review, we summarize current knowledge about the bioactive compounds and bioactivities of ginger, and the mechanisms of action are also discussed. We hope that this updated review paper will attract more attention to ginger and its further applications, including its potential to be developed into functional foods or nutraceuticals for the prevention and management of chronic diseases.

Keywords: anti-inflammatory; anticancer; antinausea; antiobesity; antioxidant; phytochemicals.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The potential mechanism for the antioxidant action of 6-shogoal: 6-shogoal leads to the translocation of Nrf2 into the nucleus and increases the expression of Nrf2 target genes by modifying Keap1 and preventing Nrf2 from proteasomal degradation. Thus, the level of GSH increases, and the level of ROS decreases. Abbreviations: Nrf2, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2; Keap1, Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1; NQO1, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) quinone dehydrogenase 1; HO-1, heme oxygenase-1; GCLC, glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit; GCLM, glutamate-cysteine ligase modifier subunit; Trx1, thioredoxin 1; TrxR1, thioredoxin reductase 1; AKR1B10, Aldo-keto reductase family 1 member B10; FTL, ferritin light chain; GGTLA4, γ-glutamyltransferase-like activity 4; ROS, reactive oxygen species; GSH, glutathione; ARE, antioxidant response element.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Several signaling pathways are involved in the anticancer mechanisms of 6-gingerol. CDK: Cyclin-dependent kinase; PI3K: Phosphoinositide 3-kinase; Akt: Protein kinase B; mTOR: Mammalian target of rapamycin; AMPK: 5’adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase; Bax: Bcl-2-associated X protein; Bcl-2: B-cell lymphoma 2.
Figure 3
Figure 3
An overview of the bioactivities of ginger.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Han Y.A., Song C.W., Koh W.S., Yon G.H., Kim Y.S., Ryu S.Y., Kwon H.J., Lee K.H. Anti-inflammatory effects of the Zingiber officinale Roscoe constituent 12-dehydrogingerdione in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated raw 264.7 cells. Phytother. Res. 2013;27:1200–1205. doi: 10.1002/ptr.4847. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Stoner G.D. Ginger: Is it ready for prime time? Cancer Prev. Res. 2013;6:257–262. doi: 10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-13-0055. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Nile S.H., Park S.W. Chromatographic analysis, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and xanthine oxidase inhibitory activities of ginger extracts and its reference compounds. Ind. Crop. Prod. 2015;70:238–244. doi: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2015.03.033. - DOI
    1. Zhang M., Viennois E., Prasad M., Zhang Y., Wang L., Zhang Z., Han M.K., Xiao B., Xu C., Srinivasan S., et al. Edible ginger-derived nanoparticles: A novel therapeutic approach for the prevention and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and colitis-associated cancer. Biomaterials. 2016;101:321–340. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2016.06.018. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kumar N.V., Murthy P.S., Manjunatha J.R., Bettadaiah B.K. Synthesis and quorum sensing inhibitory activity of key phenolic compounds of ginger and their derivatives. Food Chem. 2014;159:451–457. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.03.039. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources