by Alan Gaspari Nutrient Journal
Ginger (also known as Zingiber officinale, family: Zingiberaceae) has been widely consumed as a dietary spice, delicacy, and as a traditional oriental medicine. The rhizome can be used fresh, dried or powdered. Ginger is often applied for treating nausea due to caused by morning sickness during pregnancy, chemotherapy and seasickness.
Ginger as Testosterone Booster
Ginger rhizome powder was reported to posses an antioxidant and androgenic activity in doses of 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg daily [1]. Ginger administration significantly increased serum testosterone levels at 100 mg/kg [1]. There was also an increases in testosterone at 50 mg/kg daily but it failed to reach statistical significance [1]. A study by Kamtchouing et al. [2] also reported significantly increased serum and testicular testosterone levels as well as increase in weight of the testis and testicular cholesterol level in healthy rats. Another study using doses of 500 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg indicated that extract of Zingiber officinale possesses pro-fertility properties [3]. Compared with the controls there was a dose and duration dependent increases in the serum testosterone levels and seminal quality [3]. At a very high dose (2000 mg/kg for 35 days), ginger led to slightly reduced weights of testes which might be due to negative feedback reaction from androgenic activity [4].
Ginger also prevented damage to reproductive organs induced by aluminium chloride [5] as well as cisplatin induced testicular damage [6]. Morakinyo et al. [3], Khaki et al. [7] and Shalaby et al. [8] concluded that ginger may be promising in enhancing healthy sperm parameters.
Human Study
One preliminary study by researchers from Tikrit University showed high statistically significant increase of serum hormones (p< 0.01) in infertile men [9]. After 30 week treatment serum testosterone has increased by 17,7%, serum luteinizing hormone by 43,2% and serum follicle-stimulating hormone by 17,6%; dosage of ginger used was not disclosed [9].
Ginger for Digestive Aid
Oral ginger was reported to accelerate gastric emptying and stimulate gastric motility (spontaneous movements of the stomach that aid in digestion). Most studies report some beneficial effect on gastric emptying time but mostly during some sort of disease state [10,11]. In healthy individuals ginger also seems to increase gastric emptying via antral contraction stimulation [12]. However, Phillips and colleagues [13] reported that ginger is not associated with an effect on gastric emptying. In animals, ginger and its active constituent [6]-Gingerol were reported to enhance gastrointestinal tract transit [14].
Other Benefits of Ginger Ingestion
According to studies by Srivastava [15] and Thomson et al. [21] ginger can be used as natural antithrombotic agent. Ginger has also been recorded as useful remedy in preventing post-operative nausea and vomiting in humans [13] as well as preventing morning sickness during pregnancy [16]. At high doses (500 mg/kg) aqueous extract of ginger exhibits cholesterol-lowering effect [21].
Joint Health
Ginger is also often found in joint support supplements. There is little well-designed research, however, ginger was reported to have some effectiveness for relieving joint pain of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis probably due to its anti-inflammatory [17,18,21] and anti-oxidant activity [17,18].
Are There Any Side Effects?
Ginger is considered a safe herbal medicine with only few and insignificant adverse/side effects [1]. Some minor adverse effects such as mild diarrhea have been associated with the use of ginger in humans [19]. Ginger may also cause heartburn and at much higher doses act as a gastric irritant [19]. One study carried out on male diabetic rats concluded that extracts of Zingiber officinale have high safety and intake of Zingiber officinale roots as a drink may be useful for diabetic patients who suffer from sexual impotency [20].
A 16 day administration of 1000 mg of powdered rhizome of Zingiber officinale appears to have no side effects [13].
References
Khaki, Arash, et al. “The effects of Ginger on spermatogenesis and sperm parameters of rat.” Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine 7.1 (2009): 7-12.
Kamtchouing, Pierre, et al. “Evaluation of androgenic activity of Zingiber officinale and Pentadiplandra brazzeana in male rats.” Asian journal of andrology 4.4 (2002): 299-302.
Morakinyo, A. O., O. S. Adeniyi, and A. P. Arikawe. “Effects of Zingiber officinale on reproductive functions in the male rat.” African Journal of Biomedical Research 11.3 (2008).
Rong, Xianglu, et al. “A 35-day gavage safety assessment of ginger in rats.” Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 54.2 (2009): 118-123.
Moselhy, W. A., et al. “Role of ginger against the reproductive toxicity of aluminium chloride in albino male rats.” Reproduction in Domestic Animals 47.2 (2012): 335-343.
Amin, Amr, et al. “Herbal extracts counteract cisplatin‐mediated cell death in rat testis.” Asian journal of andrology 10.2 (2008): 291-297.
Khaki, Arash, et al. “The effects of Ginger on spermatogenesis and sperm parameters of rat.” Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine 7.1 (2009): 7-12.
Shalaby, M. A., and Samar M. Mouneir. “Effect of zingiber officinale roots and cinnamon zeylanicum bark on fertility of male diabetic rats.” Global Veterinaria 5.6 (2010): 341-347.
Waleed Abid Al-Kadir Mares, et al. “The effect of Ginger on semen parameters and serum FSH, LH & testosterone of infertile men.” Tikrit Medical Journal 2012;18(2): 322-329
Stewart, J. J., et al. “Effects of ginger on motion sickness susceptibility and gastric function.” Pharmacology 42.2 (1991): 111-120.
Shariatpanahi, Zahra Vahdat, et al. “Ginger extract reduces delayed gastric emptying and nosocomial pneumonia in adult respiratory distress syndrome patients hospitalized in an intensive care unit.” Journal of critical care 25.4 (2010): 647-650.
Wu, Keng-Liang, et al. “Effects of ginger on gastric emptying and motility in healthy humans.” European journal of gastroenterology & hepatology 20.5 (2008): 436-440.
Phillips, S., S. Hutchinson, and R. Ruggier. “Zingiber officinale does not affect gastric emptying rate.” Anaesthesia 48.5 (1993): 393-395.
Yamahara, Johji, et al. “Gastrointestinal motility enhancing effect of ginger and its active constituents.” Chemical & pharmaceutical bulletin 38.2 (1990): 430.
Srivastava, K. C. “Aqueous extracts of onion, garlic and ginger inhibit platelet aggregation and alter arachidonic acid metabolism.” Biomedica biochimica acta 43.8-9 (1984): S335.
Mohammadbeigi, Robabeh, et al. “Comparing the effects of ginger and metoclopramide on the treatment of pregnancy nausea.” Pakistan journal of biological sciences: PJBS 14.16 (2011): 817.
Ramadan, Gamal, Mohammed Ali Al-Kahtani, and Wael Mohamed El-Sayed. “Anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties of Curcuma longa (Turmeric) versus Zingiber officinale (Ginger) rhizomes in rat adjuvant-induced arthritis.” Inflammation 34.4 (2011): 291-301.
Wigler, I., et al. “The effects of Zintona EC (a ginger extract) on symptomatic gonarthritis.” Osteoarthritis and cartilage 11.11 (2003): 783-789.
Ali, Badreldin H., et al. “Some phytochemical, pharmacological and toxicological properties of ginger ( Zingiber officinale Roscoe): A review of recent research.” Food and chemical Toxicology 46.2 (2008): 409-420.
Shalaby, M. A., and A. R. Hamowieh. “Safety and efficacy of Zingiber officinale roots on fertility of male diabetic rats.” Food and Chemical Toxicology 48.10 (2010): 2920-2924.
Thomson, M., et al. “The use of ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) as a potential anti-inflammatory and antithrombotic agent.” Prostaglandins, leukotrienes and essential fatty acids 67.6 (2002): 475-478.
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