Ginger: A Nutraceutical Agent for Heart Health
The natural components of ginger effectively inhibit inflammation, oxidative stress, and insulin resistance; may reduce fasting blood glucose, triglyceride, LDL levels; and prevent CVDs. Further research is necessary to confirm ginger phytochemicals’ efficacy for heart issues.
The conditions of the heart and blood vessels lead to heart attacks, stroke, congenital heart failure, peripheral artery and rheumatic heart issues, and hypertension [1].
Ginger, the rhizome of Zingiber officinale Rosc., is belong to the Zingiberaceae family and are grown mainly in India, China, and Southeast Asia. Ginger is extensively cultivated in the southeast region of Asia.
More than 400 bioactive compounds have been identified in ginger, with the therapeutic value primarily dependent on gingerols, shogaols, curcumin, paradols, and terpenoids, and 6-gingerol is the most abundant component [2].
Bioactive compounds of ginger
Ginger terpenes such as α-zingiberene, camphene, ar-curcumene, β-phellandrene, β-bisabolene, and α-piene have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic property. Four phenolic components, gingerols, shogaols, parasols, and zingerone are mostly responsible for its therapeutic properties [4].
Ginger Effects
Anti-inflammatory Effect
Ginger significantly lowers TNF-α, inflammatory factors, and NO synthase. It also reduces different pro- inflammatory markers and inhibits pro-inflammatory cytokines. The most active anti-inflammatory compounds are 6-shogaol, 6-gingerol, and 6-dehydroshogaol of ginger [5].
Antiobesity Effect
Gingerenone-A has a higher inhibitory effect on lipid accumulation and adipogenesis than gingerols and 6-gingerol, which appears to activate fatty acid metabolism [6]. Therefore, ginger and its bioactive components are against obesity by increasing lipolysis and inhibiting adipogenesis [3].
Antioxidant Effect
Ginger has great antioxidant activity, increases antioxidant enzymes, decreases oxidative stress, and eradicates free radicals [7] in cancer patients [8].
Antidiabetic Effect
The administration of 6-gingerol modulates glycogen synthase 1 and glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT-4) to the cell membrane, increasing glucose entry in skeletal muscles [9].
Effect on the Lipid Profile
Ginger decreases TGs and LDL without significantly reducing TC. Daily consumption of less than 2 g of ginger powder is more effective in lowering TGs and cholesterol [9].
Antiplatelet Aggregation effect
Consumption of 10 g powdered ginger after four hours significantly reduced adenosine diphosphate (ADP)- and adrenaline-induced platelet aggregation in humans
Effect on the Blood Pressure
Ginger’s effects on blood pressure can also vary based on dosage, ginger form, duration, experimental model, population, variety of ginger, environmental conditions, and harvest time. 6-Shogaol and 9- gingerol in ginger are responsible for antihypertensive effects [10].
Therefore, clinical trials suggest that, due to the biological functions and cardioprotective properties of ginger and its constituents, it may serve as a new therapeutic agent for various CVDs.
References
- Rastogi S, Pandey MM, Rawat AK: Traditional herbs: a remedy for cardiovascular disorders . 2016, 23:1082-9. 10.1016/j.phymed.2015.10.012
- Mao QQ, Xu XY, Cao SY, Gan RY, Corke H, Beta T, Li HB: Bioactive compounds and bioactivities of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe). Foods. 2019, 8:185. 3390/foods8060185
- Cerdá B, Marhuenda J, Arcusa R, Villaño D, Ballester P, Zafrilla P: Ginger in the prevention of cardiovascular Current Topics in Functional Food. Shiomi N, Savitskaya A (ed): IntechOpen, 2022. 10.5772/intechopen.103970
- Kiyama R: Nutritional implications of ginger: chemistry, biological activities and signaling pathways . J Nutr 2020, 86:108486. 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2020.108486
- Unuofin JO, Masuku NP, Paimo OK, Lebelo SL: Ginger from farmyard to town: nutritional and pharmacological applications. Front Pharmacol. 2021, 12:779352. 3389/fphar.2021.779352
- Suk S, Kwon GT, Lee E, et al.: Gingerenone A, a polyphenol present in ginger, suppresses obesity and adipose tissue inflammation in high-fat diet-fed mice. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2017, 61: 1002/mnfr.201700139
- Sueishi Y, Masamoto H, Kotake Y: Heat treatments of ginger root modify but not diminish its antioxidant activity as measured with multiple free radical scavenging (MULTIS) method. J Clin Biochem Nutr. 2019, 64:143-7. 3164/jcbn.18-41
- Morvaridzadeh M, Sadeghi E, Agah S, et : Effect of ginger (Zingiber officinale) supplementation on oxidative stress parameters: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Food Biochem. 2021, 45:e13612. 10.1111/jfbc.13612
- Pourmasoumi M, Hadi A, Rafie N, Najafgholizadeh A, Mohammadi H, Rouhani MH: The effect of ginger supplementation on lipid profile: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials. Phytomedicin 2018, 43:28-36. 10.1016/j.phymed.2018.03.043
- Hasani H, Arab A, Hadi A, Pourmasoumi M, Ghavami A, Miraghajani M: Does ginger supplementation lower blood pressure? A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials. Phytother Res. 2019, 33:1639-47. 1002/ptr.6362
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