Background: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a non-infectious immune disease and incidents of the disease has continuously increased in Thailand. Ginger, a Thai herb, is used in food and Thai traditional medicine. This study was designed to assess efficacy and safety of ginger extract in comparison with loratadine for AR treatment. Methods: AR patients were treated with ginger extract 500 mg (n = 40) against those treated with loratadine 10 mg (n = 40) in a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial for 3 and 6 weeks. The efficacy was evaluated from clinical examinations i.e. total nasal symptom scores (TNSS), cross-sectional area of the nasal cavity with acoustic rhinometry (ARM) and rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life questionnaire (RQLQ). The safety of treatment was measured by blood pressure, blood analysis and history-taking for side effects. Results: The results showed both ginger extract and loratadine treated groups significantly decreased TNSS scores but there was no significant difference between the two groups. In acoustic rhinometry measurement, the ginger treated group significantly gradually increased the estimated volume of the nasal cavity and decreased distances from the nostril, but the loratadine treated group did not cause a change. Both groups gave significantly improvement in every aspect of the RQLQ at third weeks. The treatment with ginger extract was as safe as loratadine as shown by renal and liver function results obtained from blood analysis. Both treatments had no effect on blood pressure of the patients. Conclusions: The ginger extract is as good as loratadine in improving nasal symptoms and quality of life in AR patients. However, ginger extract caused less side effects especially, drowsiness, fatigue, dizziness and constipation. Therefore, the ginger extract could be used as alternative treatment for patients with AR.

BackgroundThe root of Baliospermum montanum has been used as an ingredient of traditional Thai medicines for the treatments of several diseases including itching eczema, muscle and joint inflammation, and cancer. Few studies have been done on phytochemical components of this root. In this study, we isolated major compounds of the crude ethanolic extract of B. montanum root and developed and validated a high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for the determination of its major components. We then investigated anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activities of the extract.MethodsThe aims of this study were to investigate in vitro activities including inhibitory effect of β-hexosaminidase released from RBL-2H3 cells, inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production from RAW 264.7 cells and cytotoxic activity against cancerous liver cell lines (HepG2 and KKU M156) by using sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. Isolation of major components was conducted by using column chromatographic method. Isolated major compounds were analyzed by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).ResultsThe crude extract exhibited the highest cytotoxic activity, with IC50 less than 1 μg/mL, while its anti-allergy and anti-inflammation were also potent with IC50 less than 6 μg/mL. Three propiophenones isolated from B. montanum root exhibited moderate cytotoxic activities (IC50 > 20 μg/mL). Two of the propiophenones found were major components that can be detected by HPLC. The developed and validated HPLC method showed good accuracy, precision, and linearity.ConclusionThe results of this study suggested that ethanolic extract of of B.montanum root can be a potential source of anti-allergy, anti-inflammation, and anti-cancer compounds. The isolated compounds can serve as markers when B. montanum is used in herbal remedies but not as overall responsive markers. The HPLC method developed may be useful for quality control in the production of the extract and for further formulation developments. However, investigation of several associated biological activities is necessary before the development can proceed further. Minor active compounds should be isolated and a more sensitive analytical method should be developed to detail the key responsive components of the ethanolic extract of B. montanum root.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12906-019-2449-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.