Foods and Dietary Supplements in the Prevention and Treatment of Disease in Older Adults

2015, Pages 111–117

Chapter 12 – Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) in the Treatment of Osteoarthritis: Clinical Observations and Mechanistic Insights

• Manjeshwar Shrinath Baliga¹,
• Latheesh Latheef²,
• Raghavendra Haniadka¹,
• Farhan Fazal¹,
• Prajwal Prabhudev Mane³,
• Faizan Kalekhan¹,
• Jacob Chacko²

doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-418680-4.00012-9

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Osteoarthritis (OA), a clinical condition caused in part by injury, loss of cartilage structure and function, and an imbalance in inflammatory and anti-inflammatory pathways, is a major health problem in older adults. To complicate this, a complete cure is not available, especially when the cartilage is destroyed; in such conditions the treatment is restricted towards relieving pain, maintaining or improving joint mobility, increasing the strength of the joints, and minimizing the disabling effects of the disease. The rhizome of Zingiber officinale Roscoe (family Zingiberaceae), known colloquially as ginger, has been used since time immemorial as a anti-arthritic agent, and scientific studies have validated the ethnomedicinal effects of ginger. The present chapter addresses these aspects in detail, and also emphasizes the molecular anti-osteoarthritic mechanisms.

Keywords

• Zingiber officinale;
• ginger;
• osteoarthritis