Gingerol

What is Gingerol?

Gingerol is the compound that makes fresh ginger taste hot. Its main source is ginger root (Zingiber officinale). The best known form is called [6]-gingerol.

You meet it in two ways. One is food: fresh root, dried powder, ginger tea. The other is supplements, usually sold as ginger extract and labelled for gingerol content.

Here is the short verdict. Ginger has fair human evidence for easing nausea, and weaker evidence for joint pain. Pure gingerol on its own has barely been tested in people.

Long use in tradition is not proof that something works. It is also not proof that it is safe. This page separates the two.

How does Gingerol work?

Most of what is known about gingerol comes from the lab, not from people.

In cell and animal studies, gingerol appears to damp down signals linked to inflammation. It also acts on TRPV1, a heat-sensing nerve receptor. That is why raw ginger burns the tongue.

For nausea, the leading idea is that ginger acts on the gut wall and on serotonin receptors there. Serotonin is a chemical messenger involved in vomiting. This has mostly been shown in animal and tissue work.

So the honest position is this. We can see an effect on sickness in human trials. We cannot yet say exactly which step in the body produces it.

Heat and drying change the chemistry. Gingerol turns into shogaols when ginger is dried, and into zingerone when it is cooked. Dried ginger is therefore not the same compound mix as fresh root.

What forms does Gingerol come in?

Gingerol is rarely sold on its own. You buy ginger, and gingerol comes with it.

- Fresh root, grated or sliced. - Dried ground spice. - Tea bags and sliced dried root for brewing.

- Capsules and tablets of ginger powder or extract. - Liquid tinctures. - Candied ginger and pickled ginger.

- Ginger essential oil, meant for the skin or a diffuser.

Strength varies a lot between these. A cup of weak tea and a concentrated capsule are not the same thing. Ginger ale often contains little or no real ginger.

Do not swallow ginger essential oil. It is far more concentrated than the root.

Where it comes from:

Ginger has been used as food and medicine in Asia for well over 2,000 years.

Classical Chinese medicine used fresh ginger and dried ginger as separate remedies, with different roles. Ayurvedic texts from India listed it for digestion and cold conditions. Both traditions treated it as warming.

Arab traders carried ginger west, and it appears in Greek, Roman and medieval European writing. European herbals of the Middle Ages recommended it for upset stomachs and chills.

The compound gingerol was only identified in the 1800s. Traditional users were working with the whole root, not with an isolated chemical.

What does Gingerol help with?

• Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (morning sickness): This is the strongest evidence ginger has. Pooled trials show ginger reduces nausea more than placebo. The effect on actual vomiting is weaker and less consistent. Tradition used ginger tea for queasiness in many cultures. Doses and products varied widely between studies. Talk to your midwife or doctor before using supplement doses while pregnant.
• Motion sickness: Tradition used ginger for travel sickness at sea and on land. Human trials are small and the results clash. Some show less nausea, others show no benefit over placebo. It is unlikely to match standard travel sickness medicines.
• Nausea after surgery: Several trials gave ginger before an operation. A review found a small drop in sickness afterwards compared with placebo. The trials were small and varied in quality. Tell your anaesthetist before surgery if you take ginger supplements.
• Nausea during chemotherapy: Some trials report that ginger added to standard anti-sickness drugs helps a little. Others find no clear gain. Results depend heavily on the drug regimen used. Never use ginger in place of your prescribed anti-nausea (antiemetic) medicine. Check with your cancer team first.
• Osteoarthritis joint pain: Tradition treated ginger as a warming remedy for stiff, aching joints. Pooled trials in knee and hip arthritis show a modest fall in pain scores. The benefit is smaller than standard pain relievers. Stomach upset made some people drop out of these trials.
• Indigestion and bloating: Ginger was a standard digestive remedy in several traditions. Small studies suggest it speeds the stomach's emptying. Whether that reliably eases indigestion symptoms is not settled. In some people ginger causes heartburn instead.
• Period pain: A few small trials suggest ginger may ease period cramps. Some compared it with common pain relievers and found similar results. The trials were small, short and mostly from single centres. This evidence is promising but not firm.

Which foods are rich in Gingerol?

1. Fresh ginger root
2. Dried ground ginger
3. Ginger tea made from the root
4. Pickled ginger
5. Candied ginger
6. Gingerbread and ginger biscuits

Practical Tips:

Fresh root holds the most gingerol. Drying turns much of it into shogaols, and cooking turns some into zingerone.

Ginger ale and ginger beer often contain flavouring rather than real root. Check the label if that matters to you.

Eating ginger as a spice is ordinary food use and suits most people.

What are the side effects of Gingerol?

• Heartburn or reflux
• Burning feeling in the mouth or throat
• Burping with a ginger taste
• Stomach ache
• Loose stools or diarrhoea
• Mouth or tongue irritation
• Skin rash or itching (rare, allergy)
• Easier bruising or bleeding at high supplement doses
• Low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) if you also take diabetes drugs

Good to know:

Most side effects are mild and come from the gut.

Heartburn is the most common complaint, and it is more likely with capsules than with food. Symptoms usually stop when you stop taking it.

Serious reactions are rare. True ginger allergy exists but is uncommon. Bleeding problems have mainly been seen with high doses or alongside blood-thinning drugs.

How much Gingerol should you take?

• Recommended daily: This is what labels usually carry, not advice for you. Ginger supplement labels commonly give 250 mg to 1 g of dried ginger per dose. Daily totals on labels often sit at or below about 2 g. Extracts are often standardised to around 5 percent gingerols. Pure isolated gingerol has no established dose in people. Products sold for it are not well studied. Food amounts of ginger are a different matter. Cooking with fresh or ground ginger is ordinary eating. If you are pregnant, on blood thinners or on diabetes drugs, ask a doctor or pharmacist before using supplement doses.
• Best time of day: Timing depends on why you are taking it. For travel sickness, people usually take it before setting off. For morning sickness, it is often taken in small amounts through the day. For joint pain, the time of day does not seem to matter. If ginger gives you heartburn at night, moving it earlier may help.
• With or without food: Taking ginger with food lowers the chance of heartburn and stomach burning. Capsules on an empty stomach are the most common cause of that burning. If you get reflux, take it with a meal. Tea is usually gentler than concentrated capsules.
• Time to effect: For nausea, any effect usually shows within 30 minutes to a few hours. For joint pain, trials measured changes over several weeks. Do not expect a quick change there. It may also do nothing at all. Trial results are mixed, and some people get no benefit.
• How long to take it: For short-term nausea, ginger is normally used for days, not months. Most trials ran for four to twelve weeks. There is little good data on taking ginger supplements for years. Food use over a lifetime appears to be fine. If you are using it for joint pain and see nothing after about six weeks, it is reasonable to stop.