Ginger

As a culinary spice, ginger was known for centuries to reduce flatulence, bloating, and indigestion, and to stimulate the appetite. It was highly sought after by Europeans, who traded with China and India during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and used it fresh, powdered, or crystallized in cooking. In 1884, England is said to have imported more than 5 million pounds of ginger.

Ginger root relieves nausea and emesis and may prevent or reduce the symptoms of motion sickness and seasickness. While nausea is currently the main indication for use, inhibition of cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase inflammatory pathways and related prostaglandin synthetase and platelet aggregation support the use of ginger in colds, sore throats, flus, headaches, and some types of arthritis and muscular pain.

Ginger can be grown at home by planting rhizomes in soils of mixed loam, sand, peat moss, and compost in bright sun with plenty of water. Within a year, gnarled, branched rhizome spread throughout the soil, bearing numerous tubers.

Medicinal Uses :

Traditional herbal actions: carminative, diaphoretic, antispasmodic, antiemetic, cholagogue, circulatory stimulant, peripheral vasodilator, expectorant, antiseptic, topical rubifacient

Conditions: intestinal colic, flatulence, indigestion, headache, sore throat, arthritis, common cold, flu, delayed menstruation, pelvic congestion, menstrual cramps

Clinical applications: motion sickness, nausea, vomiting, indigestion, flatulence, common cold, flu, dysmenorrhea; also used topically for arthritis, sore joints, and muscle sprains.

Another Name :

Ginger Root (English)Zingiber officinale (Botanical)
Zingiberaceae (Plant Family)
Zingiberis rhizoma (Pharmacopeial)