Elucidating the Beneficial Effects of Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) in Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and its pathogenesis remains obscure. Current treatment approaches mainly including levodopa and dopamine agonists provide symptomatic relief but fail to halt disease progression, and they are often accompanied by severe side effects. In this context, natural phytochemicals have received increasing attention as promising preventive or therapeutic candidates for PD, given their multitarget pharmaceutical mechanisms of actions and good safety profile. Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe, Zingiberaceae) is a very popular spice used as a medicinal herb throughout the world since the ancient years, for a wide range of conditions, including nausea, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and cancer. Emerging in vivo and in vitro evidence supports the neuroprotective effects of ginger and its main pharmaceutically active compounds (zingerone, 6-shogaol, and 6-gingerol) in PD, mainly via the regulation of neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, intestinal permeability, dopamine synaptic transmission, and possibly mitochondrial dysfunction. The regulation of several transcription factors and signaling pathways, including nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/Ak strain transforming (Akt), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2, and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1 alpha (PGC1α) have been shown to contribute to the protective effects of ginger. Herein, we discuss recent findings on the beneficial role of ginger in PD as a preventive agent or potential supplement to current treatment strategies, focusing on potential underlying molecular mechanisms.

Anti-melanogenic effect of Moju through inhibition of tyrosinase activity

“…The raw materials of Moju are known to have pharmaceutical and nutraceutical activities. Ginger, the dried rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale Roscoe (Zingiberaceae), has been utilized as a folk remedy for thousands of years and is a commonly used spice worldwide (Angelopoulou et al 2022). Some regulatory authorities classify ginger as a safe herbal supplement, and it has been used in both complementary and alternative medicine formulations for cold, fever, and headache management, as an appetite stimulant, and as an antiviral, antibacterial, choleretic, antidiarrheal, expectorant and antiemetic compound (Anh et al 2020;Mashhadi et al 2013).…”

Conformational dynamics of α-synuclein and study of its intramolecular forces in the presence of selected compounds

“…For this reason, we screened similar compounds and selected two synthetic compounds (C10 and C14) for molecular dynamics simulations, in addition to one naturally occurring compound. There is much experimental evidence of ginger's beneficial effects on PD development 44 . Thus, we consider gingerol (the main pharmaceutically active compound in ginger) in our simulations.…”

Antioxidant Activity in Extracts from Zingiberaceae Family: Cardamom, Turmeric, and Ginger

“…Ginger has been studied in these types of diseases. It has been observed that 6-shogaol inhibited some components of the inflammatory pathway, such as TNF-α, NO, COX-2, and iNOS, in patients with Parkinson’s disease [ 89 ]. In addition, it has been suggested that this compound may inhibit glial cell activation and reduce memory impairment in animal models of dementia [ 90 ], as well as exert a protective effect against amyloid-β in AD [ 91 ].…”