ginger

Names and Synonyms

Common Names

• ginger
• Ginger
• Cooking Ginger
• garden ginger

Scientific Names

Accepted name

Synonyms

• Zingiber cholmondeleyi
• Zingiber sianginensis
• Zingiber confine
• Amomum zingiber
• Zingiber officinale f. rubens
• Zingiber sichuanense
• Zingiber officinale var. cholmondeleyi
• Zingiber officinale f. macrorhizonum
• Zingiber officinale var. macrorhizonum
• Zingiber officinale var. rubens
• Zingiber officinale var. rubrum
• Zingiber officinale var. sichuanense
• Zingiber blancoi

Regional and Traditional Names

Sources: Wikidata, Catalogue of Life

Taxonomical Classification

This plant belongs to the kingdom Plantae and is classified under the phylum Streptophyta within the class Equisetopsida. As a member of the subclass Magnoliidae and the order Zingiberales, it is further categorized into the family Zingiberaceae. Finally, it is identified by the genus Zingiber, specifically known as Zingiber officinale.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Distribution

This plant exhibits a widespread presence across several tropical regions. In West-Central Tropical Africa, its distribution includes the Gulf of Guinea Islands. The species is also well-established throughout the Western Indian Ocean. Specifically, it can be found in the Comoros, Mauritius, and Madagascar. Finally, its geographical range extends to the island of Réunion within the same oceanic region.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Botanical Identification

Ecology

The ecology of Zingiber officinale is characterized by its preference for tropical and subtropical environments where it thrives under specific altitudinal and climatic conditions. This species is typically found across an elevational range starting from 0 m AMSL and extending up to a maximum of 1500 m AMSL. Within this range, the plant flourishes in humid, warm climates, often inhabiting the understory of forest ecosystems or fertile, well-drained tropical soils. It requires consistent moisture and dappled sunlight, avoiding extreme temperature fluctuations and waterlogged conditions to maintain optimal rhizome development.

Elevational range max:

1500 m AMSL

Elevational range min:

0 m AMSL

Life history

The life history of Zingiber officinale is characterized by its status as a perennial plant, allowing it to persist through multiple growing seasons. As a member of the ginger family, its biological structure is defined by its classification as a geophyte, meaning it survives unfavorable environmental conditions by storing nutrients in underground rhizomes. Furthermore, it is categorized as a cryptophyte, as its vital regenerative organs are concealed beneath the soil surface, ensuring its survival and ability to re-emerge during favorable periods.

Life form :

geophyte

Life form :

cryptophyte

Lifecycle :

perennial

Morphology

The morphology of Zingiber officinale is characterized by its growth form as a non-woody herb and a forb, reaching an average plant height of approximately 1.5 m. As a terrestrial species, it does not exhibit aquatic, semiaquatic, or epiphytic habits, maintaining an independent existence rather than acting as a parasite. The plant structure is self-supporting, meaning it does not function as a liana, vine, or any other type of climber.

Aquatic :

terrestrial

Climber :

self-supporting

Epiphyte :

terrestrial

Growth form :

herb

Growth form :

forb

Parasite :

independent

Plant height mean:

1.5 m

Woodiness :

non-woody

Physiology

The physiology of Zingiber officinale is characterized by a C3 photosynthetic pathway, which dictates its metabolic processes and carbon fixation mechanisms within the leaf tissues. Unlike plants utilizing C4 or CAM pathways, its carbon assimilation is highly dependent on the efficiency of the enzyme RuBisCO under varying light and temperature conditions. In terms of water management and morphology, the plant does not exhibit succulence, lacking the specialized thickened tissues typically used for significant water storage in arid-adapted species. Furthermore, Zingiber officinale is not a nitrogen fixer; it lacks the symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria required to convert atmospheric nitrogen into usable forms, meaning it relies on the uptake of inorganic nitrogen from the soil to support its physiological development and biomass production.

Nitrogen fixer :

no

Photosynthetic pathway :

C3

Succulence :

no

Reproduction

Reproduction in Zingiber officinale occurs through both sexual and asexual mechanisms, though its propagation in both natural and cultivated contexts is characterized by a diverse range of dispersal syndromes. While the plant can produce seeds through the pollination of its flowering inflorescences, its primary mode of multiplication is vegetative, utilizing underground rhizomes that spread laterally to form new clonal colonies. This vegetative expansion is categorized under various dispersal modes, including autochorous movement through rhizomatous growth, while its broader ecological and human-mediated movement encompasses anemochorous, anthropochorous, endozoochorous, epizoochorous, hydrochorous, myrmecocorous, unspecialized, and zoochorous syndromes. Specifically, the plant is notably anthropochorous due to extensive human intervention in its cultivation and global distribution, supplemented by the potential for natural dispersal via wind, water, animals, and insects.

Dispersal syndrome :

anthropochorous

Sources: Global Inventory of Floras and Traits (GIFT)

Plant Parts

Zingiber officinale has 4 reported plant parts identified across 45 scientific publications and several other databases that are studied for medicinal purposes. The most consistently reported plant part include rhizome, root, leaf, fruit.

Rhizome

1. African journal of traditional, complementary, and alternative medicines : AJTCAM
2. Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society
3. Journal of ethnopharmacology
4. Natural product research
5. Pakistan journal of pharmaceutical sciences

Root

1. Journal of natural products
2. Acta oto-laryngologica
3. Drug metabolism and personalized therapy
4. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
5. Journal of medicinal food

Leaf

1. International journal of molecular sciences
2. Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine

Fruit

1. Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine

Chemicals

Zingiber officinale has 506 reported phytochemicals identified across 45 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported chemicals include gingerol, 6-Gingerol, Flavonoids, 6-Shogaol, [6]-Gingerol.

gingerol

1. Dr. Duke
2. Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society
3. Protein and peptide letters
4. The Journal of pharmacy and pharmacology
5. Journal of ethnopharmacology

6-Gingerol

1. Dr. Duke
2. International journal of molecular sciences
3. Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)
4. Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association
5. Zhongguo Zhong yao za zhi = Zhongguo zhongyao zazhi = China journal of Chinese materia medica

Flavonoids

1. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
2. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
3. Open life sciences
4. Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis
5. CNS & neurological disorders drug targets

6-Shogaol

1. Dr. Duke
2. Journal of the science of food and agriculture
3. Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)
4. Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association
5. Immunologic research

[6]-Gingerol

1. Mini reviews in medicinal chemistry
2. International journal of nanomedicine
3. Planta medica
4. Journal of natural products
5. Phytotherapy research : PTR

Shogaol

1. Dr. Duke
2. Advances in experimental medicine and biology
3. Journal of food biochemistry
4. Scientific reports
5. Journal of agriculture and food research

ZINGERONE

1. Dr. Duke
2. Inflammation
3. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
4. TheScientificWorldJournal
5. Frontiers in immunology

Ginger

1. Phytotherapy research : PTR
2. Current medicinal chemistry
3. Journal of food biochemistry
4. Pharmacotherapy
5. Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP

Saponins

1. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
2. Open life sciences
3. PloS one
4. CNS & neurological disorders drug targets
5. BMC complementary medicine and therapies

Flavonoid

1. BMC plant biology
2. Pakistan journal of pharmaceutical sciences
3. Oncology research
4. Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.)
5. BioMed research international

Activities

Zingiber officinale has 851 reported activities identified across 45 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported activities include Antioxidant, Anticancer, Antimicrobial, Antibacterial, Antiviral.

Antioxidant

1. Dr. Duke
2. Indian journal of experimental biology
3. Advances in experimental medicine and biology
4. Journal of ovarian research
5. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Anticancer

1. Dr. Duke
2. Current medicinal chemistry
3. Journal of ethnopharmacology
4. PloS one
5. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Antimicrobial

1. Scientific reports
2. Aquaculture nutrition
3. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
4. Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity
5. TheScientificWorldJournal

Antibacterial

1. Dr. Duke
2. Journal of microbiology (Seoul, Korea)
3. Scientific reports
4. Zhonghua Minguo wei sheng wu ji mian yi xue za zhi = Chinese journal of microbiology and immunology
5. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Antiviral

1. Dr. Duke
2. Journal of agriculture and food research
3. Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity
4. Current pharmaceutical design
5. Saudi journal of biological sciences

Analgesic

1. Dr. Duke
2. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology
3. Zhongguo Zhong yao za zhi = Zhongguo zhongyao zazhi = China journal of Chinese materia medica
4. Journal of Ayurveda and integrative medicine
5. Current rheumatology reviews

Antidiabetic

1. Dr. Duke
2. Journal of food biochemistry
3. TheScientificWorldJournal
4. Journal of integrative medicine
5. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Antihypertensive

1. Dr. Duke
2. Journal of food biochemistry
3. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
4. Journal of integrative medicine
5. BMC complementary and alternative medicine

Antiemetic

1. Dr. Duke
2. Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior
3. Zhongguo Zhong yao za zhi = Zhongguo zhongyao zazhi = China journal of Chinese materia medica
4. Anaesthesia
5. Recent advances in anti-infective drug discovery

Antiinflammatory

1. Dr. Duke
2. Recent patents on inflammation & allergy drug discovery
3. Phytotherapy research : PTR
4. Cancer letters
5. Recent advances in anti-infective drug discovery

Medicinal Uses

Zingiber officinale has 295 reported medicinal uses identified across 45 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported uses include oxidative stress, COVID-19, cancer, inflammation, nausea.

Most Reported Uses

Preparations