CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the characteristics and the findings of the researcher with regards to
the view of related literature and study on “ACCEPTABILITY OF GINGER ROOT
(Zingiber officinale Linn) IN MAKING OINTMENT”.

Local and Foreign Literature

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe Zingiberaceae) is a medicinal plant that has been widely used
in Chinese, Ayurvedic and tibbunani herbal medicines all over the world, since antiquity for a
wide array of unrelated ailments that includes arthritis, rheumatism, sprains, muscular aches,
pains, sore throats, cramps, constipation, indigestion, vomiting, hypertension, dementia, fever,
infections, diseases, and helminthiasis.
Several reviews have appeared in the literature about this plant, and this may reflect the
popularity of the subject and its common use as a spice and medicinal plant. The constituents of
ginger are numerous and very depending on the place of origin and whether the rhizomes are
fresh or dry. The odor of ginger depends mainly on its volatile oil, the yield of varies from 1% to
3%. Over 50 components of the oil have been characterized and these are mainly
monoterpenoids, phellandrene, camphene, cineole, geraniol, curcumene, citral, terpincol, borneol
and sesauiterpenoids.
Some of oil components are converted into less odor-defining compounds on drying. Studies
indicate that the rhizome of ginger posseses the following activities: anti- emetic; promotes
secretion of saliva and gastric juices, chalagogue, anti- inflammatory, carminative, spasmolytic;
molluscidal; antischistosomal; peripheral circulatory stimulant; and increases tone of peristalsis
in intestines. Although ginger has been utilized in many studies in both man and animals, there is
a relative dearth of information on its disposition in treated subjects. After bolus intravenous
administration at a dose of 3mg/kg of gingerol, the plasma concentration time curve was
described by two compartment open model. Gingerol was rapidly cleared from plasma with a
terminal half- life of 7.23 minutes and a total of body clearance of 16.8 ml/minutes/kg. Serum
protein binding of gingerol was 92.4%. The results suggest that the ginger methanolic extract
produces greater effects in comparison with the ethyl acetate extract in fructose included
hyperlidemia associated with insulin resistance.
*In many preparations, ginger has been used not only because of its medicinal value but it is also
used as an adjunct, to that it acts as a flavoring agent or preservatives. Ginger does not only
possess pharmacological importance in medicines but is also used as pharmacological
importance in medicines but is also used as pharmaceutical aid. It was found out in a study
conducted in Japan that ginger contains at least 12 constituents that are as much more powerful
as antioxidant than Vitamin E.
 Kingdom Plantae
(Unranked) Angiosperms
(Unranked) Monocots
(Unranked) Comelinids
Order Zingiberales
Family Zingiberaceae
Genus Zingiber
Species Z. Officinale

Botany
Luya is an erect, smooth plant arising from thickened, very aromatic rootstocks.
Leafy stems are 0.4 to 1 meter high.

Distribution
Ginger is widely cultivated in the Philippines. It is nowhere naturalized and also a native of
tropical Asia.

Constituents
A methanol extract yielded the presence of terpenoids, flavonoids, alkanoids, and tannins. The
most biologically active phenolic compounds, gingerols, and shogaols, are found in the root.

Properties
Extracts and active constituents have shown potent antioxidant, anti- inflammatory,
antimutagenic, antimicrobial and possible anticancer activities. Pungency is attributed to the
purgent principle, zingerone and shogaol, while the aroma is imparted by the volatile oil.

Parts Utilized
The following are the parts that was utilized, these are the tops, leaves, and edible roots.

Uses
In terms of nutritional uses ginger has one of the most popular flavoring agents.
Folkloric
In the Philippines, pounded rhizome, alone or mixed with oil, used as revulsive and
antirheumatic. While in Ayurvedic medicine, used for inflammation and rheumatism.

Local and Foreign Studies

 Anti – oxidant – Several studies have shown that ginger is endowed with strong in vitro
and vivo anti- oxidant action of ginger has been proposed as one of the major possible
mechanisms for protective actions of the plant against toxicity and lethality of radiation.
 Anti – inflammatory and Analgesic Activities – The anti- inflammatory properties of
ginger have been known for countries.
 Effect on Blood pressure – Several pieces of evidence, mainly from rat studies, have
suggested that ginger extracts many direct and indirect effects on blood pressure and
heart rate.

 Effect of ginger on gastro intestinal – The powdered rhizome has been used for long in
traditional medicine for alleviating the symptoms of gastro intestinal illnesses.
 Nausea and Vomiting – Reviewed the evidence for the usefulness of the ginger against
nausea and vomiting from six clinical studies. Three on post- operative nausea and
vomiting were identified and two of these suggested that ginger superior and equally
effective as methocol pramide.
 Tissue and Radio Protective effects of ginger – Several extorts and fractions of Z.
Officinale have been shown to protect against chemically – Induced tissue damage.
 Effect on Muscle Tone – Traction test was carried out in accordance with convention
method.

***The gingers are well-known for their medicinal and economic significance and occur chiefly
in the tropical regions of the world mainly in the Indo-Malaysian area of Asia. At present,
however Zingiberaceae are one of the least known group in the rapidly expanding recent
knowledge of Philippine Biodiversity. Thus, this study was conducted to identify the
Zingiberaceae species present in the mountain ranges of Northern Antique, Determine their
species richness, diversity and ethnomedical uses. Ginger is one of the important medical. Young
ginger are juicy and fleshly with a very mild taste. They are often pickled in vinegar or snerry as
a snack or just cooked as an ingredient in many dishes. They can also be stepped in boiling water
to make ginger tea, to which honey is often added; sliced orange or lemon fruit may be added.
Ginger can also be made into candy, or ginger wine which has been made commercially since
1740. Mature ginger rhizomes are fibrous and nearly dry. The juice from old ginger roots is
extremely potent and is often used as a spice in indian recipes, and is a quintessential ingredient
of Chinese, Korean, Japanese and many South Asian cuisines for flavoring dishes such as
seafood or goat meat and vegetarian cuisine. Ginger acts as a useful food preservative. Fresh
ginger can be substituted for around ginger at a ratio of 6 to 1. Although the flavors of fresh and
dried ginger are somewhat different. Powdered dry ginger root is typically used as flavoring for
recipes such as gingerbread, cookies, crackers, cakes, and ginger beer. Ginger produce a hot,
fragrant kitchen spice.

*The anti- inflammatory properties of ginger (Zingiber officinale) have been known and valued
for centuries. During the past 25 years, many laboratories have provided scientific support for the
long-held belief that ginger contains constituents with anti- inflammatory properties. The original
discovery of ginger’s inhibitory effects on prostaglandin biosynthesis in the early 1970s has been
repeatedly confirmed. This discovery identified ginger as an herbal medicinal product that shares
pharmacological properties with non- steroidal anti- inflammatory drugs.
*The characterization of the pharmacological properties of ginger entered a new phase with the
discovery that a ginger extract derived from Zingiber officinale (family Zingiberaceae) inhibits
the induction of several genes involved in the inflammatory response. These include genes
encoding cytokines, chemokines, and the inducible enzyme cyclooxygenase-2. This discovery
provided the first evidence that ginger modulates biochemical pathways activated in chronic
inflammation.

NAME: Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

Common Names: Jamaica ginger, ginger root
Family: Zingiberaceae

Description of Plant
 An erect perennial herb with thick tuberous rhizomes underground and stems that grow to
2’ to 4’ tall. Linear lanceolate leaves are 6” to 12” long.
 Grows in the tropics; major producers are Jamaica, India, China, Thailand, Mexico, and
Australia.

Medicinal Part: Rhizome

Constituents and Action (if known)

 Eos (1%-3%): give ginger its characteristic aroma; may inhibit bacteria (Mills & Bone,
2000)
o Monoterpenes (geranial, neral)
 o Sesquiterpenes (zingiberene, sesquiphellandrene, beta bisabolene
 Antiemetic activity (Bone & Wilkinson, 1990; Fischer Rasmussen et al., 1991; Philips et
al., 1993; Stewart et al., 1991)
 Pungent principals (1.0%-3%):
o Gingerols (gradually decompose into shogaols during storage) inhibit
prostaglandins and leukotrienes ; may reduce inflammation and pain of arthritis
(Srivastava & Mustafa, 1992); account for pungent effects and flavor;
cardiotonic effects and inotropic effect (Shoji et al., 1982); decrease
thromboxanes and platelet activity (Srivastava, 1989); inhibits nonsteroidal anti-
inflammatory agent injury to stomach (Yoshikawa et al., 1992)
o Shogaols: cardiotonic, antipyretic, antitussive activity; enchances GI motility
(Yamahura et al., 1990)
 Diarylheptanoids: may reduce inflammation and pain of arthritis, inhibit inflammatory
prostaglandins

Other Actions: Improves production and secretion of bile from liver (Yamahura et al., 1985)

Nutritional Ingredients: As a spice, used to flavor food and drinks. Frequently used in Chinese,
Thai, and Indian cuisine, Roots can also be candied.

Traditional Use
 Antiemetic, carminative, expectorant, emmenagogue, anti- inflammatory, diaphoretic,
circulatory stimulant
 Commonly used in TCM for thousands of years. Fresh ginger (shen jiang) and dry ginger
(gan jiang) are used slightly differently. The fresh rhizome is used for damp coughs, colds,
influenza, diarrhea, and nausea. The dry root is used for deficient (cold) bleeding,
arthralgias, and cold hands and feet and is considered more effective for digestive upsets,
such as nausea, gas, and vomiting.
 In China, ginger root and stem are used as pesticides against aphids and fungal spores.
Current Use
 Anti- inflammatory for arthralgias: studies have shown that patients with osteoarthritis and
rheumatoid arthritis and chronic muscular pain experienced relief from pain and swelling
with no adverse effects (Altman & Marcussen, 2001)
 Lowers fevers and decreases the severity of colds: diaphoretic, antipyretic (lowered fevers
by 38% in rats), antirhinoviral activity (in vitro)
 Decreases motion sickness, vomiting, and morning sickness: numerous studies have
confirmed ginger’s ability to reduce seasickness, motion sickness, postsurgical nausea,
 chemotherapy-induced nausea, vomiting, and hyperemesis gravidarum. The herb
compared very favorably with conventional medications without the side effects
associated with metoclopramide (Chaiyakunapruk et al., 2006; Manusirivithaya et al.,
2004; Smith et al., 2004).
 May protect against ulcers from stress, alcohol, and aspirin, and combined with
clarithromycin, it potentiates the pharmaceutical’s ability to inhibit H. pylori infections
(Nostro et al., 2006)
 Relieves dizziness and vestibular disorders
Available Forms, Dosage, Administration Guidelines
Preparations: Fresh or dried root; capsules, tablets, tinctures