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Ayurveda · Traditional Chinese medicine · Western herbalism

GingerZingiber officinale

A kitchen rhizome with the best gut evidence of any herb for nausea: 12 pregnancy trials (1,278 women) found lower nausea scores than placebo.

Botanical name
Zingiber officinale
Part used
rhizome
Also called
Sanskrit Shunthi (dried), Ardraka (fresh); Hindi Adrak, Sonth; pinyin Sheng jiang (fresh), Gan jiang (dried), Pao jiang (baked) (生姜 / 干姜 / 炮姜); Jamaican ginger, Zingiberis rhizoma
Used in
Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese medicine, Western herbalism
Taken for
Nausea, Indigestion, Bloating, Gas, Cramping and pain, Appetite
Sold as
capsules, powder, tea, tincture, fresh, extract

Ginger, the plant and the part used

Ginger is the underground stem (rhizome) of Zingiber officinale, a tropical perennial grown across Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. It is both a food and a medicine in nearly every culture that grows it.

The rhizome is used fresh (grated, juiced, or steeped in hot water), dried and powdered, as an alcohol tincture (the European monograph describes 1:10 and 1:2 ratios in 90% ethanol), as standardized capsules, and as candied or crystallized pieces. Drying and heating change the chemistry: the pungent gingerols in fresh ginger lose water and become shogaols, which is one reason traditions treat fresh and dried ginger as different medicines. Chinese practice goes further and recognizes a third form, baked ginger (pao jiang), made by heating the dried rhizome.

Labels may state a total pungent-compound figure (gingerols and shogaols) instead of the weight of raw root, so a 250 mg capsule of extract and a 250 mg capsule of powder are not the same thing. Trials of ginger have used powders and extracts in doses from a few hundred milligrams to 2 g a day, and the preparation matters when comparing them.

Traditional uses, in their own terms

Ayurveda (about Ayurveda)

Ayurveda separates fresh ginger (ardraka) from dried ginger (shunthi). The tradition describes shunthi as pungent in taste and heating in effect, and lists its actions as deepana (kindling digestion), rochana (making food appealing) and shoolaprashamana (easing colicky pain), with a reducing effect on the vata and kapha dosha. A pharmaceutical study of shunthi powder (churna) notes its classical use for grahani (a pattern of poor digestion with irregular stools), anaha (a feeling of obstruction and distension) and shula (colic). These are the tradition’s categories, not findings about the body.

Traditional Chinese medicine (about TCM)

Chinese medicine splits ginger into three herbs. Fresh ginger (sheng jiang) is classed as pungent and slightly warm, entering the lung, spleen and stomach channels, and texts use it to “warm the middle” and stop vomiting, particularly the vomiting the tradition attributes to cold in the stomach. Dried ginger (gan jiang) is classed as pungent and hot and is used for what the texts call spleen-stomach cold, a pattern with cold abdominal pain and vomiting; the Lizhong pill is a classical formula built on it. Baked ginger (pao jiang) is listed for deficiency-cold of the spleen and stomach with abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea. In TCM terms, stomach heat vomiting is a reason to avoid fresh ginger.

Western herbalism

European herbal practice uses ginger for travel sickness and for mild, cramping digestive complaints with bloating and wind. The European Medicines Agency’s herbal committee lists ginger as a traditional herbal medicine for motion sickness, for mild spasmodic gastrointestinal complaints including bloating and flatulence, and for temporary loss of appetite, and it also lists a well-established use for preventing nausea and vomiting in motion sickness. The monograph’s uses for minor joint pain and the common cold sit outside the gut.

Compounds, and what the laboratory says about them

The main constituents of the rhizome are a volatile oil, the pungent gingerols (6-gingerol is the one most often measured), diarylheptanoids and polysaccharides. Heat and drying convert gingerols to shogaols, so 6-shogaol rises and 6-gingerol falls from fresh to dried to baked ginger; the Chinese Pharmacopoeia standard sets minimum 6-gingerol levels of 0.60% for dried and 0.30% for baked ginger. In people with functional dyspepsia, ginger powder has been observed to speed gastric emptying, which fits the traditional use for fullness, but the same trial found no change in the hormones it measured (GLP-1, motilin, ghrelin). We could not find a human trial that ties a specific compound to the anti-nausea result.

Trials in people, with the numbers

The strongest gut evidence for ginger is for nausea. A meta-analysis of 12 randomized trials in 1,278 pregnant women found that ginger improved nausea against placebo (mean difference 1.20, 95% CI 0.56 to 1.84), while the fall in vomiting episodes did not reach significance (p = 0.06). Subgroup analysis leaned toward daily doses under 1,500 mg. The authors rated the evidence low in quality, and found no significant rise in spontaneous abortion against placebo (RR 3.14, 95% CI 0.65 to 15.11, a very wide interval).

In chemotherapy, a meta-analysis of 10 trials (0.5 to 2.0 g a day) found an odds ratio of 0.71 for nausea and vomiting overall, with the effect concentrated in the acute phase (acute vomiting OR 0.58). A later placebo-controlled trial in 103 adults gave 84 mg a day of gingerols and shogaols for five days per cycle. It found no effect on acute symptoms, but less delayed vomiting in cycle 3 (2% against 23%) and less delayed nausea (49% against 79%). After surgery, a pooled analysis of 10 trials in 918 patients found lower nausea severity on a visual scale (standardized mean difference −0.247) but no significant drop in incidence or in antiemetic use. NCCIH describes the chemotherapy and postoperative evidence as uncertain.

For the rest of the gut the data are thinner. In 11 people with functional dyspepsia, 1.2 g of ginger shortened gastric half-emptying time from 16.1 to 12.3 minutes, but symptoms did not change. In a pilot trial of 45 people with irritable bowel syndrome, 28 days of 1 g or 2 g a day did not beat placebo (46.7% and 33.3% responded, against 57.1% on placebo). We could not find a large randomized trial of ginger alone for bloating, reflux or constipation.

StudyDoseWhat it found
Meta-analysis of 12 randomized trials, 1,278 pregnant women PMID 24642205Mostly 1 to 1.5 g a day; subgroup under 1.5 g favoredNausea improved vs placebo (MD 1.20, 95% CI 0.56 to 1.84); vomiting episodes not significantly reduced (p = 0.06)
Meta-analysis of 10 randomized trials in chemotherapy PMID 302994200.5 to 2.0 g a dayNausea and vomiting overall OR 0.71 (95% CI 0.54 to 0.94); acute vomiting OR 0.58; delayed symptoms not reduced
Randomized placebo-controlled trial, 103 adults on chemotherapy PMID 3769947484 mg a day gingerols and shogaols, 5 days per cycleDelayed vomiting in cycle 3: 2% vs 23%; no effect on acute symptoms; no serious adverse events
Meta-analysis of 10 randomized trials, 918 surgical patients PMID 30466995Various oral preparationsLower postoperative nausea severity (SMD −0.247); incidence and antiemetic use not significantly lower
Randomized crossover trial, 11 people with functional dyspepsia PMID 212180901.2 g single doseGastric half-emptying 12.3 vs 16.1 minutes; symptoms and gut hormones unchanged
Randomized placebo-controlled pilot, 45 people with IBS PMID 245598111 g or 2 g a day for 28 daysResponders 46.7% (1 g), 33.3% (2 g) vs 57.1% placebo; no better than placebo

The doses on record

Trials of ginger for nausea mostly used powder or extract capsules. The pregnancy meta-analysis found its signal at daily doses under 1,500 mg, the chemotherapy meta-analysis pooled 0.5 to 2.0 g a day, and the IBS pilot compared 1 g and 2 g a day. The newer chemotherapy trial dosed by active compounds: 84 mg a day of gingerols and shogaols.

The European monograph describes traditional preparations: 500 to 750 mg of powder half an hour before travel, or 0.18 to 1 g of powder three times daily for mild cramping and bloating. In Ayurveda the dried root is taken as a powder (churna); in Chinese practice fresh, dried or baked slices go into decoctions.

None of this is a dose recommendation. It is what the literature used, set down so a label can be compared with it; a pharmacist or clinician decides what applies to you.

The safety record

Across trials the side effects were mild. NCCIH lists abdominal discomfort, heartburn, diarrhea and mouth and throat irritation. In the IBS pilot, side effects were reported by 16.7% of the ginger groups and 35.7% of the placebo group, and the 103-person chemotherapy trial reported no serious adverse events.

For pregnancy, the European monograph says a moderate amount of data (300 to 1,000 pregnancy outcomes) shows no malformations or fetal or newborn toxicity from ginger root, yet advises avoiding it in pregnancy as a precaution because animal reproductive studies are insufficient. It states that safety during breastfeeding has not been established and that use is not advised in that period. It does not advise use in children under 18 for most uses. NCCIH says ginger supplements in pregnancy may be safe and that a health care provider should be consulted. TCM texts list stomach heat vomiting as a pattern where fresh ginger is avoided.

Medicines it can interact with

The European monograph lists no known interactions. The best-controlled data are for warfarin: in 12 healthy men given ginger for 7 days around a single warfarin dose, ginger did not change the INR (ratio of the area under the curve 1.01, 90% CI 0.93 to 1.15), platelet aggregation, or warfarin levels. That was a short study in healthy volunteers, not in people on long-term anticoagulants. NCCIH advises anyone taking medicines to speak with a health care provider before using ginger, because some herbs and drugs interact harmfully. The catalog’s own drug rules for ginger products are listed automatically on this page.

The interaction rules the quiz applies to ginger

These are the medicines the quiz pairs with a caution or an exclusion for this herb, taken from published interaction references:

Where ginger turns up in the catalog

Ginger appears on the labels below, alone or inside a blend; each product page gives the printed amount, the evidence for that product and the review picture.

Zenwise Digestive Enzymes 4.4 out of 5 from 67,600 ratings from Amazon · $0.33 a day OLLY Beat The Bloat Capsules 4 out of 5 from 25,935 ratings from Amazon · $0.72 a day Nature’s Way Ginger Root Capsules 4.6 out of 5 from 17,419 ratings from Amazon · $0.24 a day Love Wellness Bye Bye Bloat 4.1 out of 5 from 9,956 ratings from Amazon · $0.83 a day Bigelow Lemon Ginger Plus Probiotics Herbal Tea 4.7 out of 5 from 9,016 ratings from Amazon · $0.20 a day Physician's CHOICE Digestive Enzymes, Multi Enzymes 4.3 out of 5 from 8,980 ratings from Amazon · $0.34 a day HUM Nutrition Flatter Me Digestive Enzymes 4.1 out of 5 from 8,951 ratings from Amazon · $0.29 a day Almape Papaya Seeds Gut Reset Formula 4.82 out of 5 from 6,379 ratings from tryalmape.com · $1.13 a day Traditional Medicinals Organic Ginger Tea 4.6 out of 5 from 3,880 ratings from Amazon · $0.44 a day Yogi Lemon Ginger Tea 4.7 out of 5 from 3,114 ratings from Amazon · $0.23 per cup on Amazon ($3.68 for 16 bags); $0.31 on iHerb and $0.44 for a single box on the brand’s site Omyo GLP-1 Digestive Support 4.8 out of 5 from 2,814 ratings from omyohealth.com · $2.00 a day Triquetra Health Flora Biome Live Probiotic 4.3 out of 5 from 1,894 ratings from Amazon · $1.47 per day at one tablespoon; $2.94 at the two the label allows

34 more entries list it; the full catalog is grouped by the job each product does.

Is a ginger product right for you?

The quiz weighs your symptoms and medicines against every product researched here, ginger products included, and shows its working.

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The questions that come up

Does ginger work for nausea?

The best-studied use is nausea in pregnancy, where a meta-analysis of 12 trials found lower nausea scores than placebo but no clear drop in vomiting. Results are mixed for chemotherapy and surgery, and NCCIH calls those uncertain. The reviews describe the overall quality of evidence as low.

Is fresh ginger the same as dried ginger?

No. Drying and heating turn gingerols into shogaols, so the chemistry differs, and Ayurveda and Chinese medicine each treat fresh and dried ginger as separate herbs with separate uses. Most gut trials used dried powder or extract capsules, not fresh root.

Did ginger help irritable bowel syndrome in trials?

In the one randomized pilot we could find (45 people, 28 days), ginger at 1 g or 2 g a day did not beat placebo. It was a small study, so it cannot rule a benefit out. There is no large trial of ginger alone for IBS.

Is ginger safe in pregnancy?

The European monograph reports no malformations in 300 to 1,000 pregnancy outcomes yet says avoiding it in pregnancy is preferable as a precaution. NCCIH says ginger supplements may be safe in pregnancy and advises asking a health care provider. The pregnancy meta-analysis found no significant rise in spontaneous abortion against placebo.

Does ginger thin the blood?

In a 12-person crossover study, a week of ginger did not change INR, platelet aggregation or warfarin levels. The study was small and short, and it was done in healthy volunteers. The European monograph lists no known interactions.

Sources