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phytocvhemistry and proximate composition of ginger

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 Journal of
Pharmaceutical and
Allied Sciences
JOPHAS

PHYTOCHEMISTRY AND PROXIMATE COMPOSITION OF GINGER

(ZINGIBER OFFICINALE )

1*
UGWOKE, C.E.C. AND 2 NZEKWE, U.
1
DEPARTMENT OF PHARMACOGNOSY, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA,
NSUKKA
2
DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA,
NSUKKA
*
Correspondence Author; cecgk@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT
The phytochemistry, proximate composition and medicinal properties of ginger (Zingiber
officinale ) were investigated. The rhizomes of ginger were collected, washed with water and
chopped into tiny pieces. These were dried in an air-circulating oven and milled into fine
powder using a mechanical grinder. The resulting powdered sample was subjected to
phytochemical tests. Proximate analysis was also carried out to determine the moisture, protein,
fats, carbohydrate contents as well as ash and fibre values of the rhizome. The results of the
phytochemical screening showed that alkaloids, carbohydrates, glycosides, proteins, saponins,
steroids, flavonoids and terpenoids were present, while reducing sugars, tannins, oils and acid
compounds were absent. Similarly, the results of the proximate analysis of the rhizome showed
that ginger contains mostly carbohydrates (71.46%) and crude protein (8.83%) with a little
crude fibre content of 0.92 %. The results indicated that ginger rhizome is an excellent natural
remedy for a wide range of ailments.

Key words: Zingiber officinale, spice, rhizome, phytochemistry, proximate analysis,

Zingiberaceae, zingerone, methanolic extraction.

INTRODUCTION 1500s. The oleoresin of ginger is often

Ginger is commonly used as a
cooking spice throughout the world. It
is the rhizome of the perennial plant,
Zingiber officinale in the family
Zingiberaceae. Ginger is a perennial
creeping plant, with thick tuberous
rhizome, producing an erect stem 30 –
100 cm tall. The lance-shaped leaves
are bright green, 15 – 20 cm long, with
a prominent longitudinal rib, enclosing
conical clusters of small yellow-green
flowers marked with purple speckles
(1). It is propagated from the rhizome,
and thrives well in rich, well drained
loam soil. The rhizomes of ginger have
assumed significant roles in Chinese,
Japanese, and Indian medicine since
contained in digestive, antitussive,
antiflatulent, laxative, and antacid
compounds (2). There is supportive
evidence from several clinical trials
that ginger reduces the severity and
duration of nausea/vomiting due to
chemotherapy. Ginger is used orally,
topically, and intramuscularly for a
wide array of other conditions (3, 4).
The plant has a long history of
cultivation and is known to have
originated in China and then spread to
Journal of Pharmaceutical and Allied Sciences
Vol. 7 No. 5 (2010)
ISSN: 1596-8499
Website: http://ajol.info/index.php/jophas

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 Ugwoke and Nzekwe/Journal of Pharmaceutical and Allied Sciences 7 (5) (2010) 1182 - 1187
India, South Asia, West Africa and the
Caribbean (5).
Ginger contains up to 3.0%
essential oil that gives it fragrance.
The main constituents are
sesquiterpenoids with (-)-zingiberene
as the main component. Lesser
amounts of other sesquiterpenoids
(α-sesquiphellandrene, bisabolene
and farnesene) and a small
monoterpenoid fraction (α-
phelladrene, cineol, and citral) have
also been identified (6).
The pungent taste of plant is
due to nonvolatile phenylpropanoid-
derived compounds, particularly
gingerols and shogaols (1).The latter
are formed from the former when
ginger is dried or cooked. Zingerone
is also produced from gingerols
during this process, and is less
pungent and has a spicy-sweet
aroma. Ginger has a sialagogue
action, stimulating the production of
saliva. The characteristic odour and
flavour of the root is due to the
presence of a mixture of zingerone,
shoagoles, gingerols, and volatile oils
(1, 7). In laboratory animals, the
gingerols increase the motility of the
gastrointestinal tract and have
analgesic, sedative, antipyretic and
antibacterial properties (8). Ginger
compounds are active against a type
of diarrhoea which is the leading
cause of infant death in developing
countries (9). Zingerone is the active
constituent against enterotoxigenic
Escherichia coli, a causative agent in
the heat-labile enterotoxin-induced
diarrhoea. According to Apariman
et.al. (10), ginger has been found
effective for treating nausea, caused
by seasickness and morning sickness.
Ginger is most commonly
known for its effectiveness in aiding
digestion. By increasing the
production of digestive fluids and
saliva, ginger helps relieve
indigestion, gas pains, diarrhoea and
stomach cramping (11). Ginger’s
anti-inflammatory properties help
relieve pain and reduce inflammation
associated with arthritis, rheumatism
and muscle spasms. Ginger’s
therapeutic properties effectively
stimulate circulation of the blood,
removing toxins from the body,
cleansing the bowels and kidneys
and nourishing the skin. In addition
to these medicinal uses, ginger
continues to be valued around the
world as an important cooking spice
and is believed to help in common
cold, flu-like symptoms, headaches
and even painful menstruation (12).
In 2005, China continued to lead
the world in ginger production with a
global share of almost 25% followed
by India, Indonesia, and Nigeria.
(Table 1). However, the global
production trends in 2008 showed
that India with over 30% of the
global share, now leads in global
production of ginger, replacing
China, which has slipped to the
second position (20.5% ), followed
by Indonesia (12.7% ), Nepal (11.5%
) and Nigeria (10% ) as indicated in
Table 2 (13).
Table 1: World Top Ten Ginger
Producers in 2005
Country Production
(Int. $1000 ) (FAO
Estimate)
China 133,811
India 130,964
Indonesia 85,981
Nigeria 62,635
Nepal 53,525
Bangladesh 27,332
Thailand 19,360
Philippines 12,911
Cameroon 4,271
North Korea 3,399
Source: Statistical Division in Economic and
Social Development Unit, FAO (2005).
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 Ugwoke and Nzekwe/Journal of Pharmaceutical and Allied Sciences 7 (5) (2010) 1182 - 1187

Table 2: World Top Ten Ginger evaporator attached to a vacuum pump

Producers in 2008 and stored at a temperature of -4oC
until use.
Country Production
(tonnes) (FAO Phytochemical tests
Estimate ) Phytochemical tests were carried out
India 420,000 on the powdered extract for the
China 285,000 presence of alkaloids, tannins,
Indonesia 177,000 saponins, flavonoids, resins, oils,
Nepal 158,905 steroids, glycosides, terpenoids, acidic
Nigeria 138,000 compounds, carbohydrates, reducing
Bangladesh 57,000 sugars and proteins, following standard
Japan 42,000 procedures (14, 15).
Thailand 34,000
Philippines 28,000 Preparation of the rhizome for
Sri Lanka 8,270 proximate analysis
The rhizomes were chopped into tiny
World 1,387,445
Source: Statistical Division in Economic and pieces, then dried in an air-circulating
Social Development Unit, FAO (2008) oven and ground into fine powder,
using a mechanical grinder. The
powdered samples were sieved through
mesh 300 µm sieve and stored in an
MATERIALS AND METHODS air-tight cellophane bag as stock
sample in a refrigerator, until required
Collection and authentication of for analyses (16).
plant material
Fresh rhizomes of ginger were Chemical analyses
purchased from Ogige Market in The proximate composition of the
Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria. The sample was determined using the
plant was authenticated at the AOAC official methods (17). Thermal
herbarium of the Bioresources drying method was used in the
Development and Conservation determination of moisture content of
Programme (BDCP), Nsukka and the the samples (16). Moisture was
voucher specimen of the plant under determined by the loss in weight of
study is deposited in the herbarium of samples dried in a 1050C oven. The
the Department of Pharmacognosy, percentage moisture content was
University of Nigeria Nsukka. calculated by computing the loss in
weight on drying as a fraction of the
initial weight of sample used and
multiplied by 100.
Preparation of plant extract for
phytochemical analysis
The fresh rhizomes were washed in
MC (% ) =
Wo
water, chopped into tiny pieces, dried X 100
Wi
in an air-circulating oven and ground
into fine powder using a mechanical
grinder. The powder was subsequently where Wo = loss in weight (g) on
subjected to methanolic extraction drying and Wi = initial weight of
using cold maceration for 48h, sample (g).
concentrated to dryness using a rotary

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 Ugwoke and Nzekwe/Journal of Pharmaceutical and Allied Sciences 7 (5) (2010) 1182 - 1187
The ash content was determined
using the ignition method by burning
the sample in a muffle furnace at
6000C for 2 hr. The percentage ash
content was calculated using the
formula:
Ash (% ) = a X 100
M
Ms
Where Ma = Mass of ash (g)
and Ms = Mass of sample used (g).
Determination of crude protein was
done by determining the total organic
nitrogen, using the macro-Kjeldhal
method. This involved digestion,
distillation and titration. The technique
determined the amino nitrogen of the
sample, after which the total organic
nitrogen was then, calculated using the
formula:
TV x NE x TVd
% TON 100
M s x Vd
Where TV = Titre value, NE = mg
nitrogen equivalent to molarity of acid,
TVd = total volume to which digest
was diluted, Ms = mass of sample (g)
and Vd = volume of digest distilled.
Determination of crude fat content of
the sample was done using Soxhlet
type of the direct solvent extraction
method. Crude fat represents total fat
in most samples. At the end of the
extraction, the solvent was evaporated
and the flask dried in the oven (at
600C). The flask was then cooled and
reweighed. The percentage crude fat
(Lipid) was calculated using the
formula:
CL (% ) =
M ex
X 100
Mg
Where Mex = mass of extract (g) and
Ms = mass of sample used (g).
Total carbohydrate content of the
sample was estimated by ‘ differences’
(16). In this, the sum of the
percentages of all the other proximate
components was subtracted from 100
i. e.
Total CHO (%) = 100 – (% moisture +
% crude protein + % crude
fat + % ash).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The summary of the phytochemical
screening of the powdered sample of
the rhizome are shown in Table 3. The
sign (+) indicates the presence of the
constituents while (-) indicates the
absence of bioactive agents. Alkaloids,
flavonoids and terpenoids were present
in high concentration (+++),
carbohydrates, glycosides, resins,
proteins and steroids were moderately
(++) present, while saponins were
present in low concentration (+).
Reducing sugar, tannins, oils and acid
compounds were absent.
The results of the proximate
analysis of the ginger rhizome
(Table 4) show that ginger contains
mostly carbohydrates (72.38%), crude
protein (8.83%) and crude fat content
of 5.71%. The findings of this
study agreed with earlier reports on the
proximate composition of ginger (16).
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 Ugwoke and Nzekwe/Journal of Pharmaceutical and Allied Sciences 7 (5) (2010) 1182 - 1187

Table 3: Phytochemical contents of patients primarily because, its natural

ginger rhizome properties do not interact negatively
with other medications (19, 18). It is a
Constituents Remarks safe remedy for morning sickness,
Carbohydrates ++ since it will not harm the foetus.
Glycosides ++ Ginger is also used as support in
Proteins ++ inflammatory conditions such as
Reducing sugars - arthritis, and may be of use in heart
Alkaloids +++ disease treatment. One of the newest
Saponins + reports of the health benefits of ginger
Oils - is that it could stop cancer from
Steroids ++ growing and spreading (20, 21).
Flavonoids +++
Acid compounds -
Tannins -
Resins ++ REFERENCES
Terpenoids +++
1. Chevallier, A. (1996). The
Encyclopedia of medicinal plants.
Dorling Kindersley, London.
+++ High concentration 2. Roberts, A.T., Martin C.K., Liu Z.
++ Moderate concentration (2007). The safety and efficacy of a
+ Low concentration dietary herbal supplement and gallic
- Absence acid for weight loss. J. Med. Food. 10
(1): 184 -8
3. Borrelli, F., Capasso R., Aviello G.
(2005). Effectiveness and safety of
ginger in the treatment pregnancy-
Table 4: Proximate (nutrient) induced nausea and vomiting. Obstet
Gynecol. 105(4):849 – 56.
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