Ginger

For other uses, see Ginger (disambiguation).

"Gingers" redirects here. For the Australian punk rock group, see The Gingers.

Ginger
Color plate from Köhler's Medicinal Plants
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
clade:	Angiosperms
clade:	Monocots
clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Zingiberales
Family:	Zingiberaceae
Genus:	Zingiber
Species:	Z. officinale
Binomial name
Zingiber officinale Roscoe 1807[1]

Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family (Zingiberaceae). Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal.

Ginger cultivation began in South Asia and has since spread to East Africa and the Caribbean.^[2] It is sometimes called root ginger to distinguish it from other things that share the name ginger.

Etymology

The English name ginger comes from French: gingembre, Old English: gingifere, Medieval Latin: ginginer, Greek: zingiberis (ζιγγίβερις). Ultimately the origin is from Tamil: inji ver (இஞ்சி வேர்). The botanical term for root in Tamil is ver (வேர்), hence inji root or inji ver.^[3]

Horticulture

Ginger produces clusters of white and pink flower buds that bloom into yellow flowers. Because of its aesthetic appeal and the adaptation of the plant to warm climates, ginger is often used as landscaping around subtropical homes. It is a perennial reed-like plant with annual leafy stems, about a meter (3 to 4 feet) tall.

Traditionally, the root is gathered when the stalk withers; it is immediately scalded, or washed and scraped, to kill it and prevent sprouting.

Culinary use

Gari (ginger)

Ginger produces a hot, fragrant kitchen spice.^[4]

Young ginger rhizomes are juicy and fleshy with a very mild taste. They are often pickled in vinegar or sherry as a snack or just cooked as an ingredient in many dishes. They can also be steeped in boiling water to make ginger tea, to which honey is often added; sliced orange or lemon fruit may also be added. Ginger can also be made into candy.

Mature ginger roots are fibrous and nearly dry. The juice from old ginger roots is extremely potent ^[5] and is often used as a spice in Indian recipes, and is a quintessential ingredient of Chinese, 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.^[6]

Fresh ginger can be substituted for ground 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 a flavoring for recipes such as gingerbread, cookies, crackers and cakes, ginger ale, and ginger beer.

Candied ginger is the root cooked in sugar until soft, and is a type of confectionery.

Fresh ginger may be peeled before eating. For longer-term storage, the ginger can be placed in a plastic bag and refrigerated or frozen.

Regional use

In Western cuisine, ginger is traditionally used mainly in sweet foods such as ginger ale, gingerbread, ginger snaps, parkin, ginger biscuits and speculaas. A ginger-flavored liqueur called Canton is produced in Jarnac, France. Green ginger wine is a ginger-flavored wine produced in the United Kingdom, traditionally sold in a green glass bottle. Ginger is also used as a spice added to hot coffee and tea.

Ginger field

Fresh ginger rhizome.

India and Pakistan, ginger is called adrak in Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu, aad in Maithili, aadi in Bhojpuri, aada in Bengali, Adu in Gujarati, hashi shunti (ಹಸಿ ಶುಂಟಿ) in the Kannada, allam (అల్లం) in Telugu, inji (இஞ்சி) in Tamil and Malayalam, inguru (ඉඟුරු) in Sinhalese, alay in Marathi, and aduwa(अदुवा ) in Nepali. Fresh ginger is one of the main spices used for making pulse and lentil curries and other vegetable preparations. Fresh, as well as dried, ginger is used to spice tea and coffee, especially in winter. Ginger powder is also used in certain food preparations, particularly for pregnant or nursing women, the most popular one being katlu which is a mixture of gum resin, ghee, nuts, and sugar. Ginger is also consumed in candied and pickled form. In Bangladesh, ginger is finely chopped or ground into a paste to use as a base for chicken and meat dishes alongside shallot and garlic.

In Burma, ginger is called gyin. It is widely used in cooking and as a main ingredient in traditional medicines. It is also consumed as a salad dish called gyin-thot, which consists of shredded ginger preserved in oil, and a variety of nuts and seeds. In Indonesia, a beverage called wedang jahe is made from ginger and palm sugar. Indonesians also use ground ginger root, called jahe, as a common ingredient in local recipes. In Malaysia, ginger is call halia use in many kind of dishes especially a soup. In the Philippines it is brewed into a tea called salabat. In Vietnam, the fresh leaves, finely chopped, can also be added to shrimp-and-yam soup (canh khoai mỡ) as a top garnish and spice to add a much subtler flavor of ginger than the chopped root.

Two varieties of ginger as sold in Haikou, Hainan, China

In China, sliced or whole ginger root is often paired with savory dishes such as fish, and chopped ginger root is commonly paired with meat, when it is cooked. However, candied ginger is sometimes a component of Chinese candy boxes, and a herbal tea can also be prepared from ginger.

In Japan, ginger is pickled to make beni shoga and gari or grated and used raw on tofu or noodles. It is also made into a candy called shoga no satozuke. In the traditional Korean kimchi, ginger is finely minced and added to the ingredients of the spicy paste just before the fermenting process.

In the Caribbean, ginger is a popular spice for cooking, and making drinks such as sorrel, a seasonal drink made during the Christmas season. Jamaicans make ginger beer both as a carbonated beverage and also fresh in their homes. Ginger tea is often made from fresh ginger, as well as the famous regional specialty Jamaican ginger cake.

On the island of Corfu, Greece, a traditional drink called τσιτσιμπύρα (tsitsibira), a type of ginger beer, is made. The people of Corfu and the rest of the Ionian islands adopted the drink from the British, during the period of the United States of the Ionian Islands.

In Arabic, ginger is called zanjabil, and in some parts of the Middle East, ginger powder is used as a spice for coffee and for milk, as well. In Somaliland, ginger is called sinjibil, and is served in coffee shops in Egypt. In the Ivory Coast, ginger is ground and mixed with orange, pineapple and lemon to produce a juice called nyamanku. Ginger powder is used in hawaij, a spice mixture used mostly by Yemenite Jews for soups and coffee.

Medical properties and research

Ginger has been claimed to decrease the pain from arthritis, though studies have been inconsistent. It may also have blood thinning and cholesterol lowering properties that may make it useful for treating heart disease.^[7]

Preliminary research also indicates that nine compounds found in ginger may bind to human serotonin receptors, possibly helping to affect anxiety.^[8]

Advanced glycation end-products are possibly associated in the development of several pathophysiologies, including diabetic cataract for which ginger was effective in preliminary studies, apparently by acting through antiglycating mechanisms.^[9][10][11]

Ginger compounds are active against a form of diarrhea which is the leading cause of infant death in developing countries. Zingerone is likely to be the active constituent against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin-induced diarrhea.^[12][13]

Ginger has been found effective in multiple studies for treating nausea caused by seasickness, morning sickness and chemotherapy^[12][14] though ginger was not found superior over a placebo for pre-emptively treating post-operative nausea. Ginger is a safe remedy for nausea relief during pregnancy.^[15] Ginger as a remedy for motion sickness is still a debated issue. The television program Mythbusters performed an experiment using one of their staff who suffered from severe motion sickness. The staff member was placed in a moving device which, without treatment, produced severe nausea. Multiple treatments were administered. None, with the exception of the ginger and the two most common drugs, were successful. The staff member preferred the ginger due to lack of side effects. Several studies over the last 20 years were inconclusive with some studies in favor of the herb and some not.^[16][17] A common thread in these studies is the lack of sufficient participants to yield statistical significance. Another issue is the lack of a known chemical pathway for the supposed relief.

Chemistry

Ginger section

The characteristic odor and flavor of ginger is caused by a mixture of zingerone, shogaols and gingerols, volatile oils that compose one to three percent of the weight of fresh ginger. In laboratory animals, the gingerrols increase the motility of the gastrointestinal tract and have analgesic, sedative, antipyretic and antibacterial properties.^[18] Ginger oil has been shown to prevent skin cancer in mice^[15] and a study at the University of Michigan demonstrated that gingerols can kill ovarian cancer cells.^[19][20][21] [6]-gingerol (1-[4'-hydroxy-3'-methoxyphenyl]-5-hydroxy-3-decanone) is the major pungent principle of ginger. The chemopreventive potentials of [6]-gingerol present a promising future alternative to expensive and toxic therapeutic agents.^[22]

Ginger contains up to three percent of a fragrant essential oil whose main constituents are sesquiterpenoids, with (-)-zingiberene as the main component. Smaller amounts of other sesquiterpenoids (β-sesquiphellandrene, bisabolene and farnesene) and a small monoterpenoid fraction (β-phelladrene, cineol, and citral) have also been identified.

The pungent taste of ginger is due to nonvolatile phenylpropanoid-derived compounds, particularly gingerols and shogaols, which form from gingerols when ginger is dried or cooked. Zingerone is also produced from gingerols during this process; this compound is less pungent and has a spicy-sweet aroma.^[23] Ginger is also a minor chemical irritant, and because of this was used as a horse suppository by pre-World War I mounted regiments for feaguing.

Ginger has a sialagogue action, stimulating the production of saliva, which makes swallowing easier.^{[citation needed]}

Folk medicine

A packet of ginger powder from the Philippines used in brewing "salabat".

The traditional medical form of ginger historically was called Jamaica ginger; it was classified as a stimulant and carminative and used frequently for dyspepsia, gastroparesis, slow motility symptoms, constipation, and colic. It was also frequently employed to disguise the taste of medicines.^[24]

Tea brewed from ginger is a common folk remedy for colds. Ginger ale and ginger beer are also drunk as stomach settlers in countries where the beverages are made.

• In Burma, ginger and a local sweetener made from palm tree juice (htan nyat) are boiled together and taken to prevent the flu.
• In China, ginger is included in several traditional preparations. A drink made with sliced ginger cooked in water with brown sugar or a cola is used as a folk medicine for the common cold.^[25] "Ginger eggs" (scrambled eggs with finely diced ginger root) is a common home remedy for coughing.^{[citation needed]} The Chinese also make a kind of dried ginger candy that is fermented in plum juice and sugared, which is also commonly consumed to suppress coughing. Ginger has also been historically used to treat inflammation, which several scientific studies support, though one arthritis trial showed ginger to be no better than a placebo or ibuprofen for treatment of osteoarthritis.^[7]
• In Congo, ginger is crushed and mixed with mango tree sap to make tangawisi juice, which is considered a panacea.
• In India, ginger is applied as a paste to the temples to relieve headache, and consumed when suffering from the common cold. Ginger with lemon and black salt is also used for nausea.
• In Indonesia, ginger (jahe in Indonesian) is used as a herbal preparation to reduce fatigue, reducing "winds" in the blood, prevent and cure rheumatism and control poor dietary habits.
• In Nepal, ginger is called aduwa, अदुवा and is widely grown and used throughout the country as a spice for vegetables, used medically to treat cold and also sometimes used to flavor tea.
• In the Philippines, ginger is known as luya and is used as a throat lozenge in traditional medicine to relieve sore throat. It is also brewed into a tea known as salabat.^[26][27]
• In the United States, ginger is used to prevent motion and morning sickness. It is recognized as safe by the Food and Drug Administration and is sold as an unregulated dietary supplement. Ginger water was also used to avoid heat cramps in the United States.
• In Peru, ginger is sliced in hot water as an infusion for stomach aches as infusión de Kión.

Nutritional information

100g of Ginger contains the following nutritional information according to the USDA:^[28]

• Calories : 80
• Fat: 0.75
• Carbohydrates: 17.77
• Fibers: 2
• Protein: 1.82
• Cholesterol: 0

Safety

Ginger is on the FDA's "generally recognized as safe" list, though it does interact with some medications, including warfarin. Ginger is contraindicated in people suffering from gallstones as it promotes the production of bile.^[24]

An acute overdose of ginger is usually in excess of about 2 grams of ginger per kilogram of body mass,^[29] dependent on level of ginger tolerance, and can result in a state of central nervous system over-stimulation called ginger intoxication or colloquially the "ginger gitters".

Allergic reactions to ginger generally result in a rash, and although generally recognized as safe, ginger can cause heartburn, bloating, gas, belching and nausea, particularly if taken in powdered form. Unchewed fresh ginger may result in intestinal blockage, and individuals who have had ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease or blocked intestines may react badly to large quantities of fresh ginger.^[30] Ginger can also adversely affect individuals with gallstones.^[7][30] There are also suggestions that ginger may affect blood pressure, clotting, and heart rhythms.^[30]

Products in Taiwan made from Hebo Natural Products Limited (禾博天然產物有限公司) of China contained ginger contaminated with DIBP, some 80,000 nutritional supplement capsules made with imported ginger powder were seized by the Public Health Department of Taiwan in June 2011.^[31]

Similar ingredients

Myoga (Zingiber mioga Roscoe) appears in Japanese cuisine; the flower buds are the part eaten.

Another plant in the Zingiberaceae family, galangal, is used for similar purposes as ginger in Thai cuisine. Galangal is also called Thai ginger. Also referred to as galangal, fingerroot (Boesenbergia rotunda), or Chinese ginger or the Thai krachai, is used in cooking and medicine.

A dicotyledonous native species of eastern North America, Asarum canadense, is also known as "wild ginger", and its root has similar aromatic properties, but it is not related to true ginger. The plant also contains aristolochic acid, a carcinogenic compound.^{[citation needed]}

Production

Top ten ginger producers — 11 June 2008
Country	Production (tonnes)
India	380,100
China	331,393
Indonesia	192,500
Nepal	174,268
Thailand	170,125
Nigeria	152,106
Bangladesh	72,608
Japan	52,000
Philippines	27,415
Cameroon	12,000
World	1,615,974
Source: Food And Agricultural Organization of United Nations: Economic And Social Department: The Statistical Division

From 1585, Jamaican ginger was the first oriental spice to be grown in the New World and imported back to Europe.^[32] 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 Thailand (~10%).

Ginger output in 2005

See also

• Bu Zhong Yi Qi Wan - contains ginger material
• Kaempferia galanga
• Xiao Yao Wan - contains ginger material
• Figging

References

1. ^ "Zingiber officinale information from NPGS/GRIN". www.ars-grin.gov. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?42254. Retrieved 2008-03-03. 
2. ^ "Spices: Exotic Flavors & Medicines: Ginger". http://unitproj.library.ucla.edu/biomed/spice/index.cfm?displayID=15. Retrieved 2007-08-08. 
3. ^ "ginger". Online Etymology Dictionary, http://www.etymonline.com/. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=ginger. Retrieved January 22, 2011. 
4. ^ Ginger n Oxford Dictionary of English
5. ^ http://allthingsginger.co.uk/ginger.htm
6. ^ Glorious Ginger: Root out Ailments with this Ancient Spice published by thefoodpaper.com
7. ^ ^{a b c} University of Maryland Medical Centre (2006). "Ginger". http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/ginger-000246.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-02. 
8. ^ Identification of serotonin 5-HT1A receptor partial agonists in ginger. Nievergelt A. Huonker P. Schoop R. Altmann KH. Gertsch J. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry. 18(9):3345-51, 2010 May 1
9. ^ Antiglycating potential of Zingiber officinalis and delay of diabetic cataract in rats. Saraswat M. Suryanarayana P. Reddy PY. Patil MA. Balakrishna N. Reddy GB. Molecular Vision. 16:1525-37, 2010.
10. ^ Al-Amin, Zainab M. et al.; Thomson, M; Al-Qattan, KK; Peltonen-Shalaby, R; Ali, M (2006). "Anti-diabetic and hypolipidaemic properties of ginger (Zingiber officinale) in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats". British Journal of Nutrition (Cambridge University Press) 96 (4): 660–666. doi:10.1079/BJN20061849. PMID 17010224. http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=928716. Retrieved 5 November 2007. 
11. ^ Afshari, Ali Taghizadeh et al.; Shirpoor, A; Farshid, A; Saadatian, R; Rasmi, Y; Saboory, E; Ilkhanizadeh, B; Allameh, A (2007). "The effect of ginger on diabetic nephropathy, plasma antioxidant capacity and lipid peroxidation in rats". Food Chemistry (Elsevier) 101 (1): 148–153. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2006.01.013. 
12. ^ ^{a b} http://medind.nic.in/ibi/t03/i1/ibit03i1p32.pdf
13. ^ Chen, Jaw-Chyun; Li-Jiau Huang, Shih-Lu Wu, Sheng-Chu Kuo, Tin-Yun Ho, Chien-Yun Hsiang (2007). "Ginger and Its Bioactive Component Inhibit Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli Heat-Labile Enterotoxin-Induced Diarrhoea in Mice". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 55 (21): 8390–8397. doi:10.1021/jf071460f. PMID 17880155. 
14. ^ Ernst, E.; & Pittler, M.H. (1 March 2000). "Efficacy of ginger for nausea and vomiting: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials" (PDF). British Journal of Anesthesia 84 (3): 367–371. PMID 10793599. http://bja.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/84/3/367. Retrieved 2006-09-06. 
15. ^ ^{a b} Glorious Ginger: Root Out Ailments with This Ancient Spice published by thefoodpaper.com
16. ^ Wood, C.; Pittler, MH (2000). "Comparison of efficacy of ginger with various antimotion sickness drugs". British journal of anaesthesia 84 (3): 367–71. PMID 10793599. 
17. ^ Grøntved, A.; Pittler, MH (2000). "Ginger root against seasickness. A controlled trial on the open sea". British journal of anaesthesia 84 (3): 367–71. PMID 10793599. 
18. ^ O'Hara, Mary; Kiefer, David; Farrell, Kim; Kemper, Kathi (1998). "A Review of 12 Commonly Used Medicinal Herbs". Archives of Family Medicine 7 (7): 523–536. doi:10.1001/archfami.7.6.523. PMID 9821826. 
19. ^ Rhode, J.; Fogoros, S.; Zick, S.; Wahl, H.; Griffith, K. A.; Huang, J.; Liu, J. R. (2007). "Ginger inhibits cell growth and modulates angiogenic factors in ovarian cancer cells". BMC Complementary & Alternative Medicine 7: 44. doi:10.1186/1472-6882-7-44. PMC 2241638. PMID 18096028. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2241638. 
20. ^ Kim, J. S.; et al., Sa Im; Park, Hye Won; Yang, Jae Heon; Shin, Tae-Yong; Kim, Youn-Chul; Baek, Nam-In; Kim, Sung-Hoon et al. (2008). "Cytotoxic components from the dried rhizomes of Zingiber officinale Roscoe". Archives of Pharmacal Research 31 (4): 415–418. doi:10.1007/s12272-001-1172-y. PMID 18449496. 
21. ^ Choudhury, D.; et al., Amlan; Bhattacharya, Abhijit; Chakrabarti, Gopal (2010). "Aqueous extract of ginger shows antiproliferative activity through disruption of microtubule network of cancer cells". Food Chem Toxicol. 48 (10): 2872–2880. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2010.07.020. 
22. ^ Oyagbemi, A. A.; Saba, A. B.; Azeez, O. I. (2010). "Molecular targets of [6]-gingerol: Its potential roles in cancer chemoprevention". Biofactors 36 (3): 169–178. doi:10.1002/biof.78. PMID 20232343. 
23. ^ McGee, Harold (2004). On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (2nd ed.). New York: Scribner. pp. 425–426. ISBN 0684800012. 
24. ^ ^{a b} Al-Achi, Antoine. "A Current Look at Ginger Use". http://www.uspharmacist.com/oldformat.asp?url=newlook/files/Comp/ginger2.htm&pub_id=8&article_id=772. Retrieved 2007-08-02. ^{[dead link]}
25. ^ Jakes, Susan (2007-01-15). "Beverage of Champions". Times on-line. Archived from the original on July 1, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070701192939/http://time-blog.com/china_blog/2007/01/the_beverage_of_champions_1.html. Retrieved 2007-08-02. 
26. ^ Hardon, Anita (2001). Applied health research manual: anthropology of health and health care. Het Spinhuis. ISBN 90-5589-191-6. http://books.google.com/?id=0HzoNfy-__EC&dq=ginger+philippines+sore+throat. 
27. ^ Taguba, Yvonne B. (1984). Common medicinal plants of the Cordillera region (Northern Luzon, Philippines). Community Health Education, Services and Training in the Cordillera Region (CHESTCORE). http://www.agriculturesnetwork.org/library/44158. 
28. ^ http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/
29. ^ MDidea Extracts Professional (2010). "Dosage and Administration of Ginger". http://www.mdidea.com/products/new/new02108.html. Retrieved 2010-10-03. 
30. ^ ^{a b c} Mayo Clinic (2006-05-01). "Drugs & Supplements: Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe)". http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ginger/NS_patient-ginger. Retrieved 2007-08-02. 
31. ^ http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1627491&lang=eng_news&cate_rss=TAIWAN_eng
32. ^ "ginger" A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. Ed. David A. Bender. Oxford University Press 2009

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 edition of The Grocer's Encyclopedia.

External links

• Zingiber officinale List of Chemicals (Dr. Duke's)