Zingiber officinale Roscoe
| Botanical Name | Zingiber officinale Roscoe |
| Order: | Zingiberales |
| Family: | Zingiberaceae Synonyms |
| Genus: | Zingiber |
| Species: | Z. officinale |
| Common Names: | Ginger (English), Gingembre (French). |
Plant Synonyms
Plant Local Names
Burkina Faso: Moore - Gnamaku, Dioula - Dougouma niamako, Fulfulde - Gnamakou Bobo - Dugumo nyamugu
Ghana: Adangbe - Odzahwi, Akan - Akakador Tsintsimir, Dagbani - Sakarra Tschibilli
Guinea: Fula Pulaar - Niamaku, Limba - A-Mbir, Manding maninka - Niamaku susu
Guinea-Bissau: Crioulo - Gengipe
Liberia: Mano - Ge Su
Nigeria: Arabic Shuwa - Sakanjabir, Birom - Syataa, Yoruba - Atale.
Senegal: Bedik - Nyamaku, Manding Bambara -- Dugukoro Ni Amaku, Wolof - Dinjar.
Sierra Leone: Bulom - Wischa, Bulom - Lone, Yalunka - Nyakhamuna
Togo: Anyi Anufo - Kaka'dolo, Bassari - Afu, Kabere - Wessuguae.
Plant Habitat
Tropical plant, especially abundant in Indo- Malaysia; major world producers include Fiji, India, Jamaica, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and China; commercially cultivated in nearly every tropical and subtropical country of the world.
Plant Material of Interest
Rhizome
Plant Description
Ginger is rhizomatous, perennial plant of two kinds: erect stems of 1-1.5 m in height with linear lanceolate, alternate, smooth, sheathing leaves, which die off each year, greenish pale colour (sterile stems) and the other, of about 20 cm or less in height (fertile stems, carrying sheathing bracts) with short, stable, yellowish-green flowers, terminating in a long curve spike; each flower shows a superior tubular calyx, orange- yellow corolla with three lobes and inferior 3- celled ovary with tufted stigma; fruit is a capsule with small argillite seeds; tuberous, branched rhizome, spreads and proliferates underground (WHO, 1999; Gill, 1992).
Plant Used Parts
Plant Uses
Ginger is used in the treatment of a wide range of diseases including rectal prolapse, toothache, voice hoarseness, cough, colds, flu, pregnancy- induced nausea and vomiting, asthma, fever, colic, dysmenorrhoea, diarrhoea, arthritis, hepatitis, dyspepsia (Samy, 2005; Milt and Bone, 2001; Adjanahoun et al, 1985; BHP, 1983).
Plant Therapeutic Action
Absorbent; analgesic; antiemetic; antiinflammatory; antitussive; appetizer; carminative; cholagogue; diaphoretic; febrifuge; flavouring agent; galactogogue; hypotensive; peripheral circulatory stimulant; mild counter- irritant; spasmolytic; sudorific; appetizer (Suekawa etai, 1984).
Plant Precaution for Use
Excessive doses should not be encouraged to avoid cardiac arrhythmias and CNS depression; to be used with caution in the presence of gallstones and haemorrhagic conditions, may be used in pregnancy but under medical supervision
Plant Adverse Effect
Excessive dosage may cause gastrointestinal disorders.
Plant Contraindication
Patients with gastric ulcer and those on anticoagulant therapy
Plant Dosage Forms
For most purposes a typical dose of ginger is 1-4g daily, taken in divided doses
Infusion: fresh root, infused for 5 minutes: 1 teaspoon
Decoction: put 1-1.5 teaspoonfuls of the powder in a cup of water.
Tincture: 1:2 in 75% alcohol; 0.25-5 ml three times a day.
Capsules: 1 or 2 x 200 mg
Oil: take 1-2 drops on a sugar lump or in a teaspoon of honey.
Plant Dosage
Powder; tincture; ginger syrup (Syrupus Zingiberis)
Plant Storage
Store in a well closed container in a cool place away from light and moisture.
Plant Chromatographic Fingerprint
Analytical TLC on silica gel G60 F254, 0.25 mm layer in petroleum ether (40-60 °C)/chloroform [2:8], detection in daylight, after spraying with anisaldehyde (0.5 ml) mixed with 10 ml glacial acetic acid, 85 ml methanol and 5 ml concentrated sulphuric acid and heated to 100- 110°C for 5-10 min. Presence of five characteristic spots with R,s of 0.89 (purple), 0.80 (purple), 0.56 (purple), 0.46 (purple) and 0.14 (purple).
Plant Constituents
Volatile oil (oleo-resin): monoterpenes [8- phellandrene, (-t-)-camphene, cineole, citral, borneol]; sesquiterpenes (zingiberene, bisabolene); gingerols; vitamin B group (niacin, ribloflavin, thiamin); vitamin C; reducing sugars; phosphatide acids; lecithins; folic acid; mucilage (GHP, 1992; Seukawa et al, 1984).
Plant Pictures
Plant References
Adjanohoun, E. ef a/., (1985). Contribution to ethnobotanical and floristic studies in Western Nigeria. Published by Organization of African Unity's Scientific, Technical and Research Commission, Lagos, Nigeria.
Ajith, T. A., Hema, U„ Aswathy, M. S. (2007a). Zingiber officinale Roscoe prevents acetaminophen - induced acute hepatotoxicity by enhancing hepatic antioxidant status. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 45: 2267-2272.
Ajith, T.A., Nivitha, V., Usha, S. (2007b). Zingiber officinale Roscoe alone and in combination with a-tocopherol protect the kidney against cisplatin- induced acute renal failure. Food and Chemical Toxicology 45:921-927.
Backon, J. (1986). Ginger: inhibition of thromboxane synthetase and stimulation of prostacyclin: relevance for medicine and psychiatry. Medical Hypotheses, 20:271- 278.
Bhandari, U„ Sharma, J.N., Zafar, R. (1998). The protective action of ethanolic ginger (Zingiber officinale) extract in cholesterol fed rabbits. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 61:167- 171.