Ginger ~ Zingiber officinale

Ginger

Latin name: Zingiber officinale

Family: Zingiberaceae

Part used: rhizome

Habitat: native to S.E. Asia; cultivated in the tropics

Main constituents: volatile oil (zingiberene, bisabolene, zingiberol); phenolic compounds (gingerols, shogaols); starch, mucilage, resin

Energetics: heating, stimulating, drying

Main herbal actions: carminative, antiflatulent, antitussive, antimicrobial, hypolipidemic, antioxidant

Minor herbal actions: antiemetic, spasmolytic, antiatherosclerotic, cardiotonic

Main medicinal uses: digestive disturbances involving flatulence, burping, and colic; circulatory sluggishness; motion sickness; nausea

Minor medicinal uses: burns (fresh juice), migraine headaches, lumbago, pyrexia

Preparations: fresh infusion: 2-3 cm of rhizome/cup water; dried infusion: 1 tsp/cup water; 1:1 tincture: 10-60 gtt prn

Contraindications: pregnancy (large doses) (Concern in pregnancy was possible abortifacient effect, based on animal studies with extreme doses. No longer thought to be contraindicated in pregnancy.)

Toxicity: CNS depression and cardiac arrhythmias (animal studies only)

Sources: Sharol Tilgner, N.D.: Herbal Medicine from the Heart of the Earth; Wren, R.C. Potter’s New Cyclopaedia of Botanical Drugs and Preparations