Pharmacological Properties of Ginger Combinations

Abstract

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a widely cultivated plant due to its pharmacological properties and its use as a spice. The plant species enjoys a good reputation in most regions of the world mainly because of its anti-inflammatory, antitumor, and antioxidant activities. To enhance these pharmacological properties, ginger is mostly used in combination. Drug combination therapy is also a worthwhile strategy for the prevention of various diseases. Therefore, the current chapter concerted on pharmacological activities of ginger combinations. The plant species has been combined with other plant extracts, pure compounds, and approved drugs for antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer, antidiabetic, and antidepressant activities and also in herbal tea formulations. Most of these activities showed synergism with 50% inhibition concertation (IC50) values of less than 1. The highest activity was observed when ginger phytochemicals, shogaol, and gingerol derivatives were combined against prostate cancer cell lines with an IC50 value of 0.03. Interaction of different phytochemicals in ginger with other phytochemicals when used in combination account for the reported synergism. The observed synergism in most combinations depicts a potential use of ginger combinations in treatment and prevention of various diseases and disease conditions.