Ginger Extract (Zingiber Officinale) has Anti-Cancer and Anti-Inflammatory Effects on Ethionine-Induced Hepatoma Rats

Abstract

Habib SHM, Makpol S, Hamid NAA, Das S, Ngah WZW, Yusof YAM. Ginger extract (zingiber officinale) has anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory effects on ethionine-induced hepatoma rats. Clinics. 2008;63:807-13. OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the effect of ginger extract on the expression of NFκB and TNF-α in liver cancer-induced rats. METHODS: Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 5 groups based on diet: i) control (given normal rat chow), ii) olive oil, iii) ginger extract (100mg/kg body weight), iv) choline-deficient diet + 0.1% ethionine to induce liver cancer and v) choline-deficient diet + ginger extract (100mg/kg body weight). Tissue samples obtained at eight weeks were fixed with formalin and embedded in paraffin wax, followed by immunohistochemistry staining for NFκB and TNF-α. RESULTS: The expression of NFκB was detected in the choline-deficient diet group, with 88.3 ± 1.83% of samples showing positive staining, while in the choline-deficient diet supplemented with ginger group, the expression of NFκB was significantly reduced, to 32.35 ± 1.34% (p<0.05). In the choline-deficient diet group, 83.3 ± 4.52% of samples showed positive staining of TNF-α, which was significantly reduced to 7.94 ± 1.32% (p<0.05) when treated with ginger. There was a significant correlation demonstrated between NFκB and TNF-α in the choline-deficient diet group but not in the choline-deficient diet treated with ginger extract group. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, 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.

Gelam Honey and Ginger Potentiate the Anti Cancer Effect of 5-FU against HCT 116 Colorectal Cancer Cells

“…We have previously demonstrated that ginger extract inhibited the growth of HepG2 hepatoma cells and the formation of tumor in liver cancer-induced rats (Mohd Yusof et al, 2008). Ginger was believed to suppress the hepatocarcinogenesis mainly through induction of apoptosis in the cancer cell, as indicated by downregulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein and upregulation of pro-apoptotic protein caspase-8 (Mohd Yusof et al, 2008), as well as supressing inflammation (Jeong et al, 2009;Sang et al, 2009) by inactivating nuclear factor-kappa beta (NF-κβ) (Habib et al, 2008). Other studies have also reported the mechanism of anti-tumour effect of ginger extract via induction of apoptosis in various human cancer cell lines following treatment with ginger phenolic compounds (Lee and Surh, 1998;Miyoshi et al, 2003).…”

“…For centuries, it has been used as food flavoring agent as well as for traditional medicinal purposes (Ali et al, 2008). Current trend in research has focused its attention to ginger given its anti-cancer, anti-oxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties (Masuda et al, 2004;Grzanna et al, 2005;Shukla and Singh, 2007;Habib et al, 2008). Recently, our laboratory has demonstrated anti-tumor effects of ginger extracts against colon cancer cell lines through the induction of apoptotic pathway coupled with cell cycle arrest at G 0 /G 1 phase (Abdullah et al, 2010).…”

Change in Adiponectin and Oxidative Stress after Modifiable Lifestyle Interventions in Breast Cancer Cases

“…Zingiber officinale, commonly known as ginger, is traditionally used as a spice in various foods and beverages in a wide variety of ailments such as; asthma, diabetes, nausea and pain (Afshari et al, 2007). Also, Habib et al (2008) reported that ginger might act as an anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer (Habib et al, 2008). The dried rhizomes of ginger (rich in pungent phenolic compounds: gingerols and shogaols) or extracts thereof are important ingredients of many traditional/ alternative medicines worldwide (Ling et al, 2010).…”

Ginger Protects the Liver against the Toxic Effects of Xenobiotic Compounds: Preclinical Observations

“…Liver cancer, scientifically known as hepatocellular carcinoma, is one of the five most common cancers in the world, and is caused by chronic consumption of hepatotoxins and infection by the hepatitis B viruses [27]. Scientific studies carried out in the recent past have shown that ginger possess chemopreventive properties, and was effective in preventing ethionine-induced [28,29], and DEN-initiated and CCl 4 -promoted hepatocarcinogenesis in rats [30].…”