Table 1.

Pharmacological effects of ginger supplementation in in vivo studies (↓—downregulation/decrease, ↑—upregulation/increase).

Extract/Natural Product	Study Group and Duration of Treatment	Dosage	Comments	References
Ginger rhizome	Patients ≤ 50 years 8 weeks	≥3 g per day	↓ Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, possibly due to antioxidant potential	[43,44]
Ginger rhizome	Patients	(0–2, 2–4 and 4–6 g/day)	↓Hypertension by 8 and 13%	[48,49]
Ginger rhizome	Patients	≥2 g per day	↓ TAG and LDL-C in blood	[51]
Ginger extract	120 patients	30 mg of ginger extract in 2 capsules a day for 1 month	↓ Pain ↑ Joint motion	[32]
Ginger extract with Echinacea extract	15 patients with osteoarthritis; >60 years of age; men/women ratio: 2/13	25 mg ginger and 5 mg of Echinacea extract, 30 days	↓ Pain ↓ Knee circumference	[33]
Ginger rhizome	60 patients with postoperative sequelae; men/women ratio: 24/36	500 mg of powdered ginger rhizome; oral administration, every 6 h after surgery	↓ Pain Similar effects to ibuprofen
Ginger rhizome	24 healthy overweight women 20–30 years of age	3 g of powdered ginger a day; oral administration for 10 weeks with and without training	↓ Systolic blood pressure ↓ Diastolic blood pressure in the group treated with ginger with no training	[49]
Ginger extract	32 50-day-old male Sprague-Dawley rats	250 mg/kg b.w. water extract, 3 times a week; oral gavage, 4 weeks	↓TAG, TC and LDL; ↑HDL in combination with aerobic training ↑ LHD and AST biomarkers ↑ CK-MB, cTn-I and cTN-T in plasma	[52]
Ginger extract	24 male albino Wistar rats (200–250 g)	250 mg/kg b.w. of methanolic ginger extract daily for 3 weeks	↓Plasma sugar levels ↓ Hyperglycemia ↓ Hyperinsulinemia	[55]
Ginger juice	Rats with alloxan-induced diabetes (150 mg/kg b.w.)	4 mL/kg b.w. daily, oral administration for 6 weeks	↓Plasma sugar levels ↑ HDL ↓ TC, TAG, LDL, creatinine, uric acid	[54]
Ginger extract	Rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes	200 mg/kg b.w. of water extract, 20 days	↓ Hyperglycemia ↓ TC ↑ Cholesterol 7-alpha-hydroxylase activity ↓ Levels of liver and pancreas thiobarbituric-acid-reactive substances	[11]
6-Shogaol	Guinea pig	-	↓ Sleep apnea ↑ Relaxation of blood vessels ↓ Blood pressure	[50]
Ginger extract	7-week-old male mice [55] and male Sprague-Dawley rats [55]	0.3–0.4% ginger extract added to the high-sugar and high-fat diet feed for 2 weeks [55] and 35 days [55]	↓ Obesity by PPAR receptor regulation ↓ Body weight ↑Energy expenditure, heat production ↓ Hyperglycemia	[55,56]
Ginger extract	24 male Sprague-Dawley rats	20 and 50 mg/kg b.w. of 95% ethanol extract daily by oral gavage for 5 weeks together with fructose solution	↑ Heat production ↓Fructose-overconsumption-induced adipose tissue insulin resistance in rats ↓ Cytokines	[57]
Ginger essential oils	Rats	12 weeks	Treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease → Modulation of the hepatic-SREBP-1c- and CYP2E1-mediated pathway ↓ Hyperlipidemia ↓TG, TC	[58]
Ginger extract	40 5-week-old female BALB/c mice with induced colitis	p.o., 100, 300 and 500 mg/kg b.w. 21 days, once a day	↓ Body weight ↓ Colon length ↓ Number of neutrophils and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α)	[22]
6-Gingerol	40 I/R-induced male Sprague-Dawley rats	Oral gavage, 25 and 50 mg/kg b.w., 3 days before operation, once a day	↓ IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α	[21]
6-Shogaol			Improved translocation of Nrf2 factor ↑ OH-1	[40]
6-Gingerol	40 I/R-induced Male Sprague-Dawley rats	Oral gavage, 25 and 50 mg/kg b.w., 3 days before operation, once a day	↓ Lipid peroxidation ↑ SOD, glutathione and peroxidase activity	[21]
Ginger extract with Lactobacillus acidophilus	75 Wistar rats, 8–10 weeks old with DMH-induced inflammation	50 mg/kg of ginger CO2 extract and 109 CFU of L. acidophilus; 1 month, once a day	↓ MDA, TNF-α, COX-2, iNOS, c-Myc ↑ CAT, SOD levels	[23]
GEO	Mice with autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE)	200 and 300 mg/kg	↓ IL-12, TGF-β	[24]
GEO	48 male albino rats, 12 weeks old, with induced nephrotoxicity	Essential oil from ginger, 50 mg/kg b.w.; oral administration	↓ Urea, creatinine and blood urea nitrogen ↑ Renoprotection ↑ Adenosine deaminase activity resulting in neuroprotective effect	[25,26]
6-Gingerol	Streptozotocin-induced (50mg/kg) 7-week-old male Wistar rats	75 mg/kg/day oral administration	↓ Acetylcholinesterase levels ↓ Pro-inflammatory cytokines Treatment of Alzheimer’s disease ↓ BWG%, ↓ GSH/GSSG	[59]