it originated in south - east asia and then used in many countries as a spice and condiment to add flavor to food . besides this , the rhizome of ginger has also been used in traditional herbal medicine . grouped fresh ginger into two wide range categories , i.e. volatiles and non - volatiles . volatiles include sesquiterpene and monoterpenoid hydrocarbons providing the distinct aroma and taste of ginger . on the contrary , ginger has staring potential for treating a number of ailments including degenerative disorders ( arthritis and rheumatism ) , digestive health ( indigestion , constipation and ulcer ) , cardiovascular disorders ( atherosclerosis and hypertension ) , vomiting , diabetes mellitus , and cancer . it also has anti - inflammatory and anti - oxidative properties for controlling the process of aging . furthermore , it has antimicrobial potential as well which can help in treating infectious diseases.[246 ] generation of free radicals or reactive oxygen species ( ros ) during metabolism beyond the antioxidant capacity of a biological system results in oxidative stress , which plays an essential role in heart diseases , neurodegenerative diseases , cancer , and in the aging process . inflammatory disorders such as gastritis , esophagitis , and hepatitis , which are caused not only by infectious agents such as viruses , bacteria , and parasites but also by physical and chemical agents like heat , acid , cigarette smoke , and foreign bodies , are recognized as risk factors for human cancer . ginger consumption before exercise might reduce naturally occurring quadriceps muscle pain during moderate - intensity cycling exercise . this effect may be due to anti - inflammatory effect of ginger and further investigation need to prove it in human . this study aimed to review the current evidence on ginger effects as an anti - inflammatory and anti - oxidative . we conducted a comprehensive search in the following databases : medline , embase , in order to identify relevant studies . the electronic search was conducted in july 2012 , and developed in collaboration with an experienced librarian . time restriction were applied to year of publication from 2000 - 2012 and we used literatures only from english language and studied both human and animal models . all titles and abstracts were examined that met our search terms and full publications were reviewed , when necessary . medline search with the terms : [ ginger ] and [ anti - oxidative ] and [ ginger ] and [ anti - inflammatory ] , then we had 211 articles . review articles were only included in this review if they offered new insights or opinions . we could achieve only to 59 articles from these articles and summarized 12 full text studies in the table . the rich phytochemistry of ginger includes components that scavenge free radicals produced in biological systems . for the purpose of energy production , increased production of free radicals results in oxidative stress that can lead to dna damage . in such circumstances of imbalance , the anti - oxidative properties of ginger and its components have been explored in various in vitro and in vivo tests . strengthening the body 's defenses by improving the antioxidant status will undoubtedly protect human against many chronic diseases . 6-shogaol has exhibited the most potent antioxidant and anti - inflammatory properties in ginger , which can be attributed to the presence of alpha , beta - unsaturated ketone moiety . animal modeling showed that ginger significantly lowered induced lipid peroxidation and raised the levels of antioxidant enzymes , together with serum glutathione . furthermore , feeding ginger to rats at 1% w / w during administration of malathion ( 20 ppm ) for 4 weeks significantly attenuated malathion - induced lipid peroxidation . concomitant dietary feeding of ginger ( 1%w / w ) significantly attenuated lindane - induced lipid peroxidation , reduced glutathione ( gsh ) , and the gsh - dependent enzymes glutathione peroxidase , glutathione reductase , and glutathione s - transferase . in vitro , zingerone scavenged o and oh and suppressed lipid peroxidation , so it can possibly value in treatment of parkinson 's disease . ethanol significantly decreased the superoxide dismutase , catalase , glutathione peroxidase , glutathione reductase , and glutathione content in the hepatic tissue . this effect was improved by a treatment with 1% dietary ginger 1 month in rats which suggest that ginger may have protective role against the ethanol induced hepatotoxicity . these protective effects may be attributed to their anti - inflammatory properties by attenuating serum c - reactive protein levels and antioxidant effects by reducing lipid peroxidation marker , malondialdehyde levels , and increasing renal superoxide dismutase activity . they could be beneficial adjuvant therapy in patients with acute and chronic renal failure to prevent disease progression and delay the need for renal replacement therapy . in one study , ethanol extract of z. officinale alone and in combination with vitamin e partially ameliorated cisplatin - induced nephrotoxicity . this protection is mediated by renal antioxidant defense system . in the other study , the protective effect of the ginger extract was examined on ccl ( 4 ) and acetaminophen - induced liver damage and indicated that z. officinale could be useful in preventing acute liver injury . the overall evaluation of one study concludes that both spices ginger and cumin have good antioxidant potential , particularly fresh ginger . methanol extracts of all the samples were found to have better antioxidant action than the n - hexane extracts . there was also a good correlation between the total phenolic content and antioxidant activities of the non - volatile extracts . rat studies showed that ginger has an equal antioxidant effect to that of ascorbic acid . ghasemzadeh et al . validated the medicinal potential of the leaves and young rhizome of z. officinale ( halia bara ) and the positive relationship between total phenolics content and antioxidant activities in z. officinale . in ancient cultures , medical practitioners focused on herbs for promoting the immune systems of body . in many countries ginger and its products gingerol , shogaol , and other structurally - related substances in ginger inhibit prostaglandin and leukotriene biosynthesis through suppression of 5-lipoxygenase or prostaglandin synthetase . additionally , they can also inhibit synthesis of pro - inflammatory cytokines such as il-1 , tnf- , and il-8 . in another investigation , pan et al . showed that in macrophages , shogaol can down - regulate inflammatory inos and cox-2 gene expression . indicated that rhizome hexane fraction extract of z. officinale inhibited the excessive production of no , pge ( 2 ) , tnf - alpha , and il-1beta . because of potent compounds in ginger rhizome for inhibiting allergic reactions , it may be useful for the treatment and prevention of allergic diseases . habib et al . showed that ginger extract can reduce the elevated expression of nfb and tnf- in rats with liver cancer . the activation of nf-b is linked to a variety of inflammatory diseases , including cancer , atherosclerosis , myocardial infarction , diabetes , allergy , asthma , arthritis , crohn 's disease , multiple sclerosis , alzheimer 's disease , osteoporosis , psoriasis , septic shock , and aids . showed that gingerols can inhibit lps - induced cox-2 expression while shogaol containing extracts has no effect on cox-2 expression . these data demonstrate that important compounds in ginger are capable of inhibiting pge ( 2 ) production . one study showed ginger extract to have a statistically significant effect on reducing symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee . in another study , the effect of ginger in osteoarthritis was significant only in the first period of treatment . in gout as a rheumatic disease of joints , -shogaol has strong anti - inflammatory and antioxidant effects and can be used as a curative agent . black et al . showed that treatment of patients with has hypo - algesic effects . they used 2 g of ginger supplementation for 11 days of on 36 participants to cure muscle pain . they proved that daily consumption of raw and heat - treated ginger resulted in moderate - to - large reductions in muscle pain . however , cohort studies and controlled trails in sort of in vivo and in vitro need to be to warrant the pharmacological applications of ginger . the mechanism of ginger for acting as ingredients like -gingerol ,- shogaol , -paradol , and zerumbone in ginger exhibits anti - inflammatory and antitumorigenic activities . ginger and its bioactive molecules are effective in controlling the extent of colorectal , gastric , ovarian , liver , skin , breast , and prostate cancers.[363843 ] colorectal cancer is more prevalent in vegetarians and ginger could be effective in reducing the extent of this disease . manju and nalini studied the efficacy of ginger against 1 , 2 dimethylhydrazine ( dmh)-induced colon cancer . they observed that ginger supplementation can activate various enzymes such as glutathione peroxidase , glutathione - s - transferase , and glutathione reductase and suppress colon carcinogenesis . kim et al . administered zerumbone orally in mouse models and observed inhibition in multiplicity of colonic adenocarcinomas through suppression of colonic inflammation in a dose - dependent manner . the mechanism of that includes inhibition of proliferation , induction of apoptosis , and suppression of nf-b and heme oxygenase ( ho)-1 expression . in gastric cancer , the tumor necrosis factor - related inducing apoptosis ligand ( trials ) plays a major role by promoting apoptosis . they observed that -gingerol inhibits trail - induced nf-b activation by impairing the nuclear translocation of nf-b , suppresses ciap1 expression , and increases trail - induced caspase-3/7 activation . cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induction are the main causes of -gingerol in these cancerous cells . habib et al . suggested that ginger extract can reduce the elevated expression of nf-b and tnf - alpha in rats with liver cancer . inhibition of angiogenesis in the mouse skin is the mechanism of ginger for treating of skin cancer.[47 -gingerol exhibited considerable cytotoxicity by growth inhibition of human epidermoid carcinoma cells mediated via reactive oxygen species ( ros ) induced apoptosis . the effectiveness of ginger and its biomolecules has been demonstrated for controlling of ovarian cancer . ginger inhibited nf-b activation and diminished the secretion of vegf and il-8 helping to treat ovarian cancer . zhang et al . showed that zerumbone induced apoptosis in pancreatic carcinoma cells through p53 signal pathway , formation of apoptotic bodies , condensed nuclei , and the increased activity of caspase-3 . indicated that ginger can cure breast cancer via inhibiting cell adhesion invasion motility.[42 -gingerol can affect prostate cancer models by modulation of proteins involved in apoptosis pathway . weidner and sigwart conducted an experimental study and indicated that ginger extract with a high content of gingerols and shogaols did not induce significant changes in blood glucose , blood coagulation , blood pressure , and heart rate in rat models . however , ginger significantly lowered blood glucose , serum total cholesterol , ldl , vldl , and triglycerides , and raised hdl in hyperglycemic rats , in models that are diabetic , deficient in the apolipoprotein e gene or those that have been fed a high lipid diet . bhandari et al . showed that ethanolic extract of zingiber officinale fed orally for 20 days produced a significant antihyperglycaemic effect ( p < 0.01 ) in diabetic rats . additionally , nammi et al . indicated that the ethanolic extract of ginger reduced body weights and levels of glucose , insulin , total cholesterol , ldl cholesterol , triglycerides , free fatty acids , and phospholipids in high - fat diets . insulinoptropic properties of ginger and glucose - lowering potential were explained by islam and choi.[5661 ] we summarized 12 studies from these articles in table 1 . the rich phytochemistry of ginger includes components that scavenge free radicals produced in biological systems . for the purpose of energy production , increased production of free radicals results in oxidative stress that can lead to dna damage . in such circumstances of imbalance , the anti - oxidative properties of ginger and its components have been explored in various in vitro and in vivo tests . strengthening the body 's defenses by improving the antioxidant status will undoubtedly protect human against many chronic diseases . 6-shogaol has exhibited the most potent antioxidant and anti - inflammatory properties in ginger , which can be attributed to the presence of alpha , beta - unsaturated ketone moiety . animal modeling showed that ginger significantly lowered induced lipid peroxidation and raised the levels of antioxidant enzymes , together with serum glutathione . furthermore , feeding ginger to rats at 1% w / w during administration of malathion ( 20 ppm ) for 4 weeks significantly attenuated malathion - induced lipid peroxidation . concomitant dietary feeding of ginger ( 1%w / w ) significantly attenuated lindane - induced lipid peroxidation , reduced glutathione ( gsh ) , and the gsh - dependent enzymes glutathione peroxidase , glutathione reductase , and glutathione s - transferase . in vitro , zingerone scavenged o and oh and suppressed lipid peroxidation , so it can possibly value in treatment of parkinson 's disease . ethanol significantly decreased the superoxide dismutase , catalase , glutathione peroxidase , glutathione reductase , and glutathione content in the hepatic tissue . this effect was improved by a treatment with 1% dietary ginger 1 month in rats which suggest that ginger may have protective role against the ethanol induced hepatotoxicity . these protective effects may be attributed to their anti - inflammatory properties by attenuating serum c - reactive protein levels and antioxidant effects by reducing lipid peroxidation marker , malondialdehyde levels , and increasing renal superoxide dismutase activity . they could be beneficial adjuvant therapy in patients with acute and chronic renal failure to prevent disease progression and delay the need for renal replacement therapy . in one study , ethanol extract of z. officinale alone and in combination with vitamin e partially ameliorated cisplatin - induced nephrotoxicity . this protection is mediated by renal antioxidant defense system . in the other study , the protective effect of the ginger extract was examined on ccl ( 4 ) and acetaminophen - induced liver damage and indicated that z. officinale could be useful in preventing acute liver injury . the overall evaluation of one study concludes that both spices ginger and cumin have good antioxidant potential , particularly fresh ginger . methanol extracts of all the samples were found to have better antioxidant action than the n - hexane extracts . there was also a good correlation between the total phenolic content and antioxidant activities of the non - volatile extracts . rat studies showed that ginger has an equal antioxidant effect to that of ascorbic acid . ghasemzadeh et al . validated the medicinal potential of the leaves and young rhizome of z. officinale ( halia bara ) and the positive relationship between total phenolics content and antioxidant activities in z. officinale . in ancient cultures , medical practitioners focused on herbs for promoting the immune systems of body . in many countries ginger and its products raise the immune system . gingerol , shogaol , and other structurally - related substances in ginger inhibit prostaglandin and leukotriene biosynthesis through suppression of 5-lipoxygenase or prostaglandin synthetase . additionally , they can also inhibit synthesis of pro - inflammatory cytokines such as il-1 , tnf- , and il-8 . in another investigation , . showed that in macrophages , shogaol can down - regulate inflammatory inos and cox-2 gene expression . indicated that rhizome hexane fraction extract of z. officinale inhibited the excessive production of no , pge ( 2 ) , tnf - alpha , and il-1beta . because of potent compounds in ginger rhizome for inhibiting allergic reactions , it may be useful for the treatment and prevention of allergic diseases . habib et al . showed that ginger extract can reduce the elevated expression of nfb and tnf- in rats with liver cancer . the activation of nf-b is linked to a variety of inflammatory diseases , including cancer , atherosclerosis , myocardial infarction , diabetes , allergy , asthma , arthritis , crohn 's disease , multiple sclerosis , alzheimer 's disease , osteoporosis , psoriasis , septic shock , and aids . . showed that gingerols can inhibit lps - induced cox-2 expression while shogaol containing extracts has no effect on cox-2 expression . these data demonstrate that important compounds in ginger are capable of inhibiting pge ( 2 ) production . one study showed ginger extract to have a statistically significant effect on reducing symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee . in another study , the effect of ginger in osteoarthritis was significant only in the first period of treatment . in gout as a rheumatic disease of joints , -shogaol has strong anti - inflammatory and antioxidant effects and can be used as a curative agent . black et al . showed that treatment of patients with has hypo - algesic effects . they used 2 g of ginger supplementation for 11 days of on 36 participants to cure muscle pain . they proved that daily consumption of raw and heat - treated ginger resulted in moderate - to - large reductions in muscle pain . however , cohort studies and controlled trails in sort of in vivo and in vitro need to be to warrant the pharmacological applications of ginger . the mechanism of ginger for acting as chemopreventive spice remains a matter of conflict among researchers . ingredients like -gingerol ,- shogaol , -paradol , and zerumbone in ginger exhibits anti - inflammatory and antitumorigenic activities . ginger and its bioactive molecules are effective in controlling the extent of colorectal , gastric , ovarian , liver , skin , breast , and prostate cancers.[363843 ] colorectal cancer is more prevalent in vegetarians and ginger could be effective in reducing the extent of this disease . manju and nalini studied the efficacy of ginger against 1 , 2 dimethylhydrazine ( dmh)-induced colon cancer . they observed that ginger supplementation can activate various enzymes such as glutathione peroxidase , glutathione - s - transferase , and glutathione reductase and suppress colon carcinogenesis . kim et al . administered zerumbone orally in mouse models and observed inhibition in multiplicity of colonic adenocarcinomas through suppression of colonic inflammation in a dose - dependent manner . the mechanism of that includes inhibition of proliferation , induction of apoptosis , and suppression of nf-b and heme oxygenase ( ho)-1 expression . in gastric cancer , the tumor necrosis factor - related inducing apoptosis ligand ( trials ) plays a major role by promoting apoptosis . they observed that -gingerol inhibits trail - induced nf-b activation by impairing the nuclear translocation of nf-b , suppresses ciap1 expression , and increases trail - induced caspase-3/7 activation . cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induction are the main causes of -gingerol in these cancerous cells . habib et al . suggested that ginger extract can reduce the elevated expression of nf-b and tnf - alpha in rats with liver cancer . inhibition of angiogenesis in the mouse skin is the mechanism of ginger for treating of skin cancer.[47 -gingerol exhibited considerable cytotoxicity by growth inhibition of human epidermoid carcinoma cells mediated via reactive oxygen species ( ros ) induced apoptosis . the effectiveness of ginger and its biomolecules has been demonstrated for controlling of ovarian cancer . ginger inhibited nf-b activation and diminished the secretion of vegf and il-8 helping to treat ovarian cancer . zhang et al . showed that zerumbone induced apoptosis in pancreatic carcinoma cells through p53 signal pathway , formation of apoptotic bodies , condensed nuclei , and the increased activity of caspase-3 . indicated that ginger can cure breast cancer via inhibiting cell adhesion invasion motility.[42 -gingerol can affect prostate cancer models by modulation of proteins involved in apoptosis pathway . weidner and sigwart conducted an experimental study and indicated that ginger extract with a high content of gingerols and shogaols did not induce significant changes in blood glucose , blood coagulation , blood pressure , and heart rate in rat models . however , ginger significantly lowered blood glucose , serum total cholesterol , ldl , vldl , and triglycerides , and raised hdl in hyperglycemic rats , in models that are diabetic , deficient in the apolipoprotein e gene or those that have been fed a high lipid diet . bhandari et al . showed that ethanolic extract of zingiber officinale fed orally for 20 days produced a significant antihyperglycaemic effect ( p < 0.01 ) in diabetic rats . additionally , nammi et al . indicated that the ethanolic extract of ginger reduced body weights and levels of glucose , insulin , total cholesterol , ldl cholesterol , triglycerides , free fatty acids , and phospholipids in high - fat diets . insulinoptropic properties of ginger and glucose - lowering potential were explained by islam and choi.[5661 ] we summarized 12 studies from these articles in table 1 . it can treat a wide range of diseases via immunonutrition and anti - inflammatory responses . as a result of anti - inflammatory effect of ginger likewise , the anticancer potential of ginger is well documented and its functional ingredients like gingerols , shogaol , and paradols are the valuable ingredients which can prevent various cancers , angiogenesis and metastasis , induction of apoptosis , and inhibition of cell - cycle progression . this review concludes to favor ginger but some ambiguities necessitate further research before claiming its efficacy .
background : ginger ( zingiber officinale rosc . ) belongs to the family zingiberaceae . 
 the health - promoting perspective of ginger is attributed to its rich phytochemistry . 
 this study aimed to review the current evidence on ginger effects as an anti - inflammatory and anti-oxidative.methods:we searched medline for related publications using  ginger  and  anti - oxidative  and  ginger  and  anti - inflammatory  as keywords . 
 this search had considered papers that had been published between 2000 and 2010 without any filter.conclusions:the anticancer potential of ginger is well documented and its functional ingredients like gingerols , shogaol , and paradols are the valuable ingredients which can prevent various cancers . 
 this review concludes to favor ginger but some ambiguities necessitate further research before claiming its efficacy .