Ginger extract significantly reduced the elevated expression of NFκB and TNF-α in rats with liver cancer. Ginger may act as an anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory agent by inactivating NFκB through the suppression of the pro-inflammatory TNF-α.

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Antioxidant - In this study, the antioxidant activities of methanol extracts from the leaves, stems and rhizomes of two Zingiber officinale varieties (Halia Bentong and Halia Bara) were assessed in an effort to compare and validate the medicinal potential of the subterranean part of the young ginger.

The antioxidant activity and phenolic contents of the leaves as determined by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) assay and the total amounts of phenolics and flavonoids were higher than those of the rhizomes and stems.

This study validated the medicinal potential of the leaves and young rhizome of Zingiber officinale (Halia Bara) and the positive relationship between total phenolics content and antioxidant activities in Zingiber officinale.

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The present work is aimed to find out antioxidant and anticancer activities of two Bangladeshi ginger varieties (Fulbaria and Syedpuri) at young age grown under ambient (400 μmol/mol) and elevated (800 μmol/mol) CO₂ concentrations against two human breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231).

The use of ginger grown under elevated CO₂ concentration may have potential in the treatment and prevention of cancer.

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Anti-Inflammatory - In this study, we have purified and identified eight major components, including three major gingerols and corresponding shogaols, from ginger extract and compared their anticarcinogenic and anti-inflammatory activities.

Our results showed that shogaols ([6], [8], and [10]) had much stronger growth inhibitory effects than gingerols ([6], [8], and [10]) on H-1299 human lung cancer cells and HCT-116 human colon cancer cells, especially when comparing [6]-shogaol with [6]-gingerol (IC₅₀ of ∼8 versus ∼150 μM).

In addition, we found that [6]-shogaol had much stronger inhibitory effects on arachidonic acid release and nitric oxide (NO) synthesis than [6]-gingerol.

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Nausea occurrence and severity were assessed at a baseline cycle and the two following cycles during which patients were taking their assigned study medication. All patients received a 5-HT₃ receptor antagonist antiemetic on Day 1 of all cycles.

A total of 576 patients were included in final analysis (91% female, mean age = 53). Mixed model analyses demonstrated that all doses of ginger significantly reduced acute nausea severity compared to placebo on Day 1 of chemotherapy (p = 0.003).

Ginger supplementation at a daily dose of 0.5 g–1.0 g significantly aids in reduction of the severity of acute chemotherapy-induced nausea in adult cancer patients.

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In 2 small studies of patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy, addition of ginger to standard antiemetic medication further reduced the severity of postchemotherapy nausea.

This article describes a phase II/III randomized, dose-finding, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial to assess the efficacy of ginger for nausea associated with chemotherapy for cancer.

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Apoptosis - This study was conducted to determine the mechanism of antitumor effects of ginger extract by evaluating apoptosis rate and cell cycle progression status in colon cancer cell lines HCT 116 and p53 defective HT 29.

This study suggests that ginger extract may exert its antitumor effects on colon cancer cells by suppressing its growth, arresting the G₀/G₁-phase, reducing DNA synthesis and inducing apoptosis.

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Anti-Obesity - An aqueous extract of Z. officinale Roscoe inhibited the hydrolysis of triolein emulsified with phosphatidylcholine by pancreatic lipase in vitro and it reduced the elevation of rat plasma triacylglycerol levels 1 and 2 h after oral administration of a lipid emulsion containing corn oil.

The data suggests that the antiobesity effect of aqueous extract of Z. officinale Roscoe in mice fed a high-fat diet may be due in part to the inhibition of intestinal absorption of dietary fat by the active compounds of Z. officinale Roscoe.

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