Prospects for Pharmaceutical of Zingiber officinale Extracts and Fractions by Analysis of the Chemical Markers, Safety Profile, Anti-Lipoxygenase, and Analgesic Activity

Abstract

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) has gained recognition for its flavoring uses and its numerous health benefits. Ginger can be used in functional foods and nutraceuticals alone or combined with other herbal plants. This study aims to validate the pharmaceutical potential of the Zingiber officinale variety from the Philippines by examining the chemical composition, acute oral toxicity, anti-lipoxygenase, and analgesic activities of its extracts and fractions. 6, 8, 10-Gingerols and 6, 8, 10-Shogaols were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in methanol and hexane extracts. Acute oral toxicity in mice indicated the median lethal dose (LD50) of methanol and hexane extracts of Zingiber officinale, and the 1% IPA-hexane and 50% IPA-hexane fractions obtained by solid-phase extraction (SPE) was greater than 2000 mg/kg body weight. The 1% IPA-hexane fraction altered the behavioral pattern of the animals. The anti-inflammatory activity was analyzed by lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibition assay. The IC50 value for the inhibitory action of crude methanol extract on LOX was 218.00 µg/mL. The crude hexane extract IC50 value was 57.40 µg/mL. SPE fractionation of hexane extracts resulted in higher IC50 values; 72.14 µg/mL for the 1% IPA-hexane fraction and 98.65 µg/mL for the 50% IPA-hexane fraction. Through in-vitro suppression of LOX, the hexane crude extracts showed more effective anti-inflammatory properties. The analgesic effect was measured using acetic acid-induced writhing in mice. All doses of the methanol and hexane extract inhibited writhing by a percentage ranging from 91-100%. The SPE fractions of the hexane extract have 78-99% inhibition. Both extracts and fractions demonstrated strong analgesic effects in the mice models.