Zingiber officinale (Ginger) rhizome extract. The extract from the rhizome of Zingiber officinale (a plant belonging to the Zingiberaceae family) commonly known as ginger extract, is sourced from the ginger plant. This extract is valued for its anti-inflammatory, anti-nausea, and stimulant properties, and it's widely used in foods, supplements, and cosmetic products.

The name describes the structure of the ingredient

• "Zingiber officinale" is the botanical name for ginger. 
• "Rhizome extract" signifies that it's an extract derived from the rhizome (root) of the plant.

Description of raw materials used in production

• The primary raw material is the rhizome of ginger (Zingiber officinale). The rhizome is harvested, cleaned, and prepared for the extraction process. Packed with bioactive compounds such as gingerols and shogaols, the rhizome is celebrated for its potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as its ability to aid digestion and alleviate nausea.

Extraction process

• Harvesting. The rhizomes of ginger are harvested when they are rich in active compounds, typically when the plant is mature.
• Cleaning and Preparation. The harvested rhizomes are thoroughly cleaned to remove soil and any other impurities. They are then prepared for extraction, which may involve slicing or grinding.
• Extraction. The active components are extracted from the rhizomes using methods like solvent extraction, infusion, or steam distillation, depending on the desired extract concentration and purity.
• Concentration and Purification. Post-extraction, the extract is concentrated to enhance its potency and purified to remove any residual solvents or impurities.
• Quality Control. Each batch of ginger rhizome extract undergoes stringent quality tests to ensure the highest levels of purity, potency, and safety.

Form and Color

Zingiber Officinale rhizome extract typically appears as a concentrated liquid, ranging in color from pale yellow to a deep amber, depending on the concentration and method of extraction.

What it is for and where

Cosmetics

Antimicrobial agent. This ingredient is able to suppress or inhibit the growth and replication of a broad spectrum of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and viruses by making the stratum corneum temporarily bactericidal and fungicidal.

CAS    84696-15-1

EC number    283-634-2

Commercial applications

Cosmetics and Skin Care

• Anti-inflammatory: Thanks to compounds like gingerol, this extract can soothe and reduce skin inflammations.
• Antioxidant Properties: It helps combat free radicals, thus potentially preventing premature skin aging.
• Brightening: The extract can even out skin tone and offer a radiant glow to the skin.
• Anti-aging: Ginger extract can improve skin elasticity and may help in reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Hair Care

• Stimulating Growth: By enhancing blood circulation to the scalp, it may promote hair growth.
• Dandruff Control: Its antiseptic properties can be beneficial for dandruff control.

Therapeutic Uses

• Often used in pain relief formulations, as it can help soothe muscle and joint pains.
• Fragrance: Due to its spicy aroma, it's also incorporated in products for its scent.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale,  Amomum zingiber L. , Zingiber blancoi Massk.) belongs to the Zingiberaceae family and is a perennial plant with underground root or rhizome. It can reach a height of about 1.50 m and its leaves are light green.

The rhizomes are basically of two types, the white one (more commonly used and with greater health properties) and the red one.

They are obtained: extracts, powder, oils. Widely used in various applications including food, cosmetic and medical.

Widely used in the food and medical fields.

Among its components are interesting bio-actives: gingerol (co-responsible of spiciness), zingiberene, zingerone (co-responsible of spiciness), shogaol which has anti-inflammatory properties.

Studies

Zingerone has demonstrated particular properties, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antidiabetic. As oxidative stress and inflammation contribute to acute and chronic myocardial lesions, this component can be a powerful treatment in the prevention and treatment of heart failure (1).

This study carried out an in-depth meta-analysis of the safety of ginger to counteract the severity of nausea and postoperative vomiting. Ginger is safe and well tolerated and can reduce the demand for antiemetic drugs (2).

Chemotherapy has serious side effects that may be detrimental to the patient, namely complaints of nausea and vomiting. To reduce the side effects of chemotherapy, many patients in our country choose herbal therapy. One such therapy is the intake of ginger. The aim of this article is to explore the effectiveness of ginger to overcome nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy in breast cancer patients. The method used is a systematic review. Results of the study suggest that ginger is only effective to reduce nausea, but does not lower the frequency of vomiting caused by chemotherapy in breast cancer patients (3).

It has an antifungal activity through its oil, which, used at 2% together with a 1.5% of its extract delays the ripening of the fruit Papaya (4).

Together with citric acid, it serves to improve the softness of meat in deli products (5).

Ginger studies

References_________________________________________________________________________

(1) Leoni A, Budriesi R, Poli F, Lianza M, Graziadio A, Venturini A, Broccoli M, Micucci M. Ayurvedic preparation of Zingiber officinale Roscoe: effects on cardiac and on smooth muscle parameters. Nat Prod Res. 2018 Sep;32(18):2139-2146. doi: 10.1080/14786419.2017.1367779. Epub 2017 Aug 28. PMID: 28846029.

Abstract. The rhizome of the Zingiber officinale Roscoe, a biennial herb growing in South Asia, is commonly known as ginger. Ginger is used in clinical disorders, such as constipation, dyspepsia, diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting and its use is also recommended by the traditional medicine for cardiopathy, high blood pressure, palpitations and as a vasodilator to improve the circulation. The decoction of ginger rhizome is widely used in Ayurvedic medicine. In this papery by high-performance liquid chromatography, we have seen that its main phytomarkers were 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol and 6-shogaol and we report the effects of the decoction of ginger rhizome on cardiovascular parameters and on vascular and intestinal smooth muscle. In our experimental models, the decoction of ginger shows weak negative inotropic and chronotropic intrinsic activities but a significant intrinsic activity on smooth muscle with a potency on ileum is greater than on aorta: EC50 = 0.66 mg/mL versus EC50 = 1.45 mg/mL.

(2) Giacosa A, Morazzoni P, Bombardelli E, Riva A, Bianchi Porro G, Rondanelli M. Can nausea and vomiting be treated with ginger extract? Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2015 Apr;19(7):1291-6. PMID: 25912592.

Abstract. Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a spice traditionally used to treat indigestion, nausea and vomiting. Ginger extracts accelerate gastric emptying and stimulate gastric antral contractions. These effects are mainly due to the presence of gingerols and shogaols and their activity on cholinergic M receptors and serotonergic 5-HT and 5-HT receptors. Various researches on this subject have led to controversial results, due to the chemical instability of ginger extracts and particularly of gingerols, which are readily-oxidizable substances. A systematic review of double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized studies highlighted the potential efficacy of ginger on the prevention and treatment of nausea and vomiting of various origins, even though additional controlled studies are needed. This review focuses on pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting and on chemotherapy induced nausea, and hypothesizes a therapeutic role for ginger extracts in case of side effects, as an alternative to traditional prokinetic drugs such as domperidone, levosulpiride or metoclopramide.

(3) Castro JC, Pante GC, Centenaro BM, Almeida RTR, Pilau EJ, Dias Filho BP, Mossini SAG, Abreu Filho BA, Matioli G, Machinski Junior M. Antifungal and antimycotoxigenic effects of Zingiber officinale, Cinnamomum zeylanicum and Cymbopogon martinii essential oils against Fusarium verticillioides. Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess. 2020 Sep;37(9):1531-1541. doi: 10.1080/19440049.2020.1778183. 

Abstract. There is an increasing demand for fungi control in grains, especially toxigenic. Also, there is growing concern on the use of synthetic fungicides; thus alternatives are needed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antifungal and antimycotoxigenic action of essential oils (EOs) from Zingiber officinale, Cinnamomum zeylanicum and Cymbopogon martinii against Fusarium verticillioides, a spoilage and toxigenic fungus. Essential oils were first chemically characterised by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, and their antioxidant potential was measured by the DPPH, ABTS and FRAP methods. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and disc diffusion were used to assess antifungal activity. Scanning electron microscopy was used to evaluate morphological changes in the fungus. Antimycotoxigenic activity of the EOs against the production of fumonisin B1 and B2 by F. verticillioides was evaluated using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography system. Z. officinale, C. zeylanicum and C. martinii EOs were predominantly composed by zingiberene and geranial; eugenol; and geraniol, respectively. All the EOs had high antioxidant power, especially that from C. zeylanicum. The MICs were 250, 500 and 2,000 µg mL-1 for C. zeylanicum, C. martinii and Z. officinale EOs, respectively. Mycelial reduction of F. verticillioides was observed when EOs were used, and the lowest activity was detected in the Z. officinale EO. Overall, the tested EOs promoted structural damage to the fungal cell wall, decreased conidia size and mycelial reduction. Antimycotoxigenic evaluation of the EOs evidenced a significant reduction (p < .05) in the production of fumonisins B1 and B2 with all the EOs evaluated in the study. These results suggest that especially C. zeylanicum and C. martinii EOs are highly useful for controlling F. verticillioides and fumonisins production.

(4) Aslani A, Ghannadi A, Rostami F. Design, formulation, and evaluation of ginger medicated chewing gum. Adv Biomed Res. 2016 Jul 29;5:130. doi: 10.4103/2277-9175.187011. 

Abstract. Background: Various ginger compounds improve gastrointestinal problems and motion sickness. The main effects of ginger allocate to some phenolics such as gingerols and shogaols that act as their active agents. Chewing gums are among convenient dosage forms which patients prefer due to their advantages. Hence, this study tried to design, formulate, and evaluate ginger chewing gum of favorable taste and texture to avoid motion sickness and have gastro-protective and anti-oxidant effect....Conclusion: Ginger chewing gum comprises admissible properties to be used as a modern drug delivery system due to its advantageous results in motion sickness. It passed all the specified tests for an acceptable chewing gum. Thus, it may be successfully produced to help GI problems.

(5) Mozaffari-Khosravi H, Naderi Z, Dehghan A, Nadjarzadeh A, Fallah Huseini H. Effect of Ginger Supplementation on Proinflammatory Cytokines in Older Patients with Osteoarthritis: Outcomes of a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. J Nutr Gerontol Geriatr. 2016 Jul-Sep;35(3):209-18. doi: 10.1080/21551197.2016.1206762. 

Abstract. There is limited evidence that ginger powder consumption can relieve pain and inflammation due to specific anti-inflammatory phytochemical constitutents. This study investigates the effect of ginger supplementation on proinflammatory factors in participants (n = 120) of a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled 3-month clinical trial investigating knee osteoarthritis. Patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups: the ginger group (GG) or the placebo group (PG). Administered daily for 3 months, participants in the GG intervention received capsules containing 500 mg of ginger powder, while PG participants received capsules filled with 500 mg starch. Serum samples collected at baseline and 3 months were analyzed for serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β). At baseline, proinflammatory cytokine concentrations did not differ by group. However, at 3 months, both cytokines decreased in the GG relative to the PG. The results of this study indicate that ginger supplementation may have a promising benefits for knee osteoarthritis and may, therefore, may warrant further study.

(6) Kaur IP, Deol PK, Kondepudi KK, Bishnoi M. Anticancer Potential of Ginger: Mechanistic and Pharmaceutical Aspects. Curr Pharm Des. 2016;22(27):4160-72. doi: 10.2174/1381612822666160608115350. 

Abstract. Background: Multifaceted pathologies like cancers involve multiple targets. Failure of current treatment options modulating specific tumor target, evokes need for alternate approach of either combining several smart drugs or design a dirty drug that may simultaneously influence multiple targets to trigger a cascade of protective events complementing one another....Conclusion: Hence, amalgamating the rational formulation design with observational folklore data available on herbal drugs/agents, complemented with scientific and precise in vitro and in vivo findings can bring out a class of safe, cheap, and effective curatives which can address multitarget diseases like cancers.

(7) Effect of Ginger Extract and Citric Acid on the Tenderness of Duck Breast Muscles.  He FY, Kim HW, Hwang KE, Song DH, Kim YJ, Ham YK, Kim SY, Yeo  IJ, Jung TJ, Kim CJ.  -  Korean J Food Sci Anim Resour. 2015