Cognition of efficacy based on TCM theory system

The book “Mingyi Bie Lu” [20] states that fresh ginger has the ability to balance the body’s external conditions and promote sweating, which helps eliminate wind-cold-damp microorganisms that attack the lung’s immune system. Consequently, fresh ginger possesses the ability to alleviate symptoms such as headache, nasal congestion, cough, and nausea that are induced by colds and febrile disorders. The book “Bencao Wenda” [21] states that fresh ginger’s warming power is specifically effective in treating cold-dampness under wind-cold circumstances. The inhibitory impact of this substance can extend from the digestive tract to the respiratory tract, thereby reducing nausea and vomiting. Additionally, it has the ability to remove detrimental elements that lead to the development of diseases from the body’s exterior, which is demonstrated by perspiration and increased body temperature, as depicted in Fig. 2. Ginger’s warming properties can specifically alleviate respiratory and pulmonary problems, as documented in the “Yaoming Lun” [22]. Ginger can be used to treat illnesses characterized by vomiting caused by numerous circumstances and pathogenic agents.

Fig. 2

Visually represents the medicinal properties of fresh ginger, dried ginger, and baked ginger, based on the analysis of “identifying properties by effects, homology of properties and effects, and mutual expression of properties and effects”, as well as “modern drug research”

Dried ginger is classified as a warm internal medicine and has the properties of heating the middle, eliminating cold, enhancing the flow of yang qi, warming the lungs, and converting phlegm. In comparison to fresh ginger, dried ginger possesses a higher level of concentration and desiccating properties, rendering it more appropriate for the expulsion of moisture, elimination of cold, stimulation of the lungs, and alleviation of cough and wheezing in the central region of the body without impacting the superficial regions. Dried ginger exhibits rapid action and possesses potent medicinal properties, as depicted in Fig. 2, wherein the augmented velocity of the river water can promptly penetrate stones. Dried ginger has a fast and powerful impact that can swiftly alleviate obstructions caused by cold and dampness in the body’s energy pathways, enabling the vital energy to rise and effectively restore vitality and reverse a state of collapse. In the field of clinical medicine, this treatment is particularly efficient for severe and critical situations characterized by a strong dislike or avoidance of cold temperatures. The book “Bencao Qiuzhen” [23] mentions that when there is a deficit of warmth in the stomach and the original yang is about to be depleted, combining it with Fuzi (Aconiti Radix lateralis preparata) will help replenish yang and have immediate results. Therefore, it is commonly said that “dried ginger lacks spiciness without the addition of Fuzi”.

Baked ginger is a hemostatic drug, which has the functions of warming meridians to stop bleeding and warming the Middle-jiao to alleviate pain. The pungent and dry nature of baked ginger is weaker than that of dried ginger, and its power of warming the interior is not as swift and violent as that of dried ginger. However, the effect of baked ginger is gentle and long-lasting, and the drug has a wide range of properties and rapid action. Baked ginger can dry the cold and dampness of the spleen and stomach, remove the cold and stuffy sensation in the navel and abdomen, warm the heart qi, warm the liver and spleen meridians, and restrain the excessive blood leakage. Therefore, the baked ginger’s power is more concentrated in the blood phases of middle and lower jiaos, and it is good at warming the Middle-jiao to alleviate pain, relieving diarrhea, and warming meridians to stop bleeding. Both of them are processed products of dried ginger, and the nature and efficacy of ginger charcoal is similar to that of baked ginger. The drug has a wide range of properties and rapid action, and it has good retention and is good at warming channel for arresting bleeding, and warming the spleen and anti-diarrhea. Miao Xiyong pointed out in “Bencao Jingshu” [24] that “dried ginger that stir-fried until black can attract various hematic tonics into the yin, and when blood is replenished, yin is generated and heat is reduced, and there will be no bleeding”. But there is a fundamental difference between the two. The preparation methods of baked ginger and ginger charcoal are different. Baked ginger is intended to remove some volatile oils, and it tends to warm the Middle-jiao, while ginger charcoal is intended to stir fry charcoal to preserve its natures, and it tends to stop bleeding. Therefore, although there are overlapping pharmacological effects, each has its own strengths. National Standard for the Processing of Traditional Chinese Medicine clearly distinguishes the two [25]: “baked ginger is used to warm the interior and dissipate cold, and is used for deficiency-cold of the spleen and stomach, abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. Ginger charcoal can warm meridians and stop bleeding, and is mainly used to treat vomiting, epistaxis, metrorrhagia and blood loss due to yin deficiency”. Ginger can be used for medicinal purposes by simmering. Roasted ginger appears as a common method of fresh ginger medicine, and has the efficacy of regulating the middle warmer and stopping vomiting. Compared with fresh ginger, conventional medicine believes that simmering can reduce the divergence of fresh ginger, increase the principle of yang-heat, help the spleen and stomach in transportation and transformation, and make the Tai Yin damp soil warm and move, thus enhancing the functions of warming the Middle-jiao to arrest vomiting. However, due to limited application, there are few studies.

Based on the theoretical system of TCM on one source and multiple substances of ginger, it can be seen that there are differences in effect or efficacy among different kinds of ginger, and it is not advisable to generalize in drug management and clinical application. All kinds of ginger have their own unique utilities and have great research value. As illustrated in Fig. 2, according to traditional Chinese medicine theory, the therapeutic effects can be expressed in the following ways: (1) Sweating to relieve symptoms: The arrow signifies the movement of pathogenic factors from the body to the skin's surface through sweating; (2) Warming the lungs and relieving cough: The green arrow indicates an improvement in the respiratory condition; (3) Warm to stop vomiting, warm to dispel cold: The gradual warming process is likened to heating cold water over a low fire, causing the cold air to dissipate like water vapor; (4) Huiyang Tongmai: The medicine's rapid effect is likened to the forceful impact of river water, swiftly breaking through blockages in the meridians caused by cold and dampness, allowing Yang Qi to surge and restore vitality. It is particularly effective in severe and emergency cases; (5) Warming the lungs and transforming the drink: A powerful gust of hot wind melts away icy water, symbolizing the transformation of coldness; and (6) Warming and relieving pain, warming menstruation and stopping bleeding: These effects are achieved by dilating blood vessels and reducing pressure.

Analysis based on modern pharmacological research

In recent years, with the in-depth study of ginger by scholars at home and abroad, modern pharmacological analysis of ginger has been carried out, but the research and analysis of baked ginger, ginger charcoal and roasted ginger, which are little known, are relatively lacking, mainly focusing on the pharmacological research of fresh ginger and dried ginger. Studies have found that fresh ginger can not only stop vomiting, but also have anti-oxidation, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and bactericidal effects, and stomach protection, metabolism regulation, immunity regulation, anticoagulation and blood lipid and blood glucose reduction effects; Dried ginger has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-oxidation and anti-tumor functions, and liver protection, digestive system improvement, and blood system improvement effects. In addition, very few studies have also shown that baked ginger can be anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and anti-oxidation; Ginger charcoal can warm meridians, stop bleeding, resist oxidation, resist inflammation and relieve pain [26]. There is currently a lack of corresponding researches on roasted ginger. In summary, it can be seen that there are many overlapping pharmacological effects among different kinds of ginger, mainly anti-oxidation, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anticoagulant, and corresponding analgesic and antibacterial effects. Based on modern pharmacological research, this paper will conduct an in-depth analysis of the pharmacological effects of various ginger varieties.

Presently, the main emphasis in pharmacological study lies on fresh ginger and dried ginger, whereas there is a dearth of research and analysis on less familiar processed ginger items such as fried ginger, charred ginger, and stewed ginger. Research has shown that fresh ginger possesses not only antiemetic characteristics, but also demonstrates antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, antibacterial, gastroprotective, metabolic-regulating, immunomodulatory, anticoagulant, and hypolipidemic benefits. In contrast, dried ginger has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-tumor, hepatoprotective, digestive system-enhancing, and hematological system-improving effects. Preliminary studies indicate that fried ginger possesses anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and antioxidant qualities, whereas charred ginger demonstrates characteristics such as enhancing blood circulation, preventing bleeding, antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory benefits, and pain relief [28]. Nevertheless, there is presently a dearth of research on the effects of stewed ginger. In general, different varieties of ginger have similar pharmacological benefits, particularly in terms of their ability to act as antioxidants, reduce inflammation, inhibit tumor growth, prevent blood clotting, and provide pain relief. Additionally, ginger also possesses antibacterial capabilities. Figure 2 presents a comprehensive examination of the similarities and distinctions in the pharmacological impacts of different varieties of ginger, as determined by contemporary pharmacological research.

Comprehensive pharmacological effect of fresh ginger and its research situation

Fresh ginger has a special vomiting stopping effect, mainly because the gingerol compounds it contains plays a major role in reducing the stimulation of the vomiting center and reducing the release of related neurotransmitters. After research [27], it was found that its mechanism of action may be that the four gingerol components in fresh ginger, i.e. 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol, 6-shogaol, and 10-gingerol, and highly polar glycosides, reduce the expression of neurotransmitter system related receptors such as 5-HT, dopamine, and substance P in the central and peripheral nervous regions, alleviate 5-HT3-stimulated vomiting-inducing chemoreceptor (CTX) and M3 choline receptors, and thus produce antiemetic effects. In addition, research has found that the aglycones of the four gingerol glycosides in fresh ginger all present two or more hydroxyl groups on the alkyl chain and do not contain any other substituents. It is speculated that this type of gingerol is more effective in entering the human body due to its combination with carbohydrate components, and has an anti-emetic effect in the body.

Fresh ginger species contain gingerol with strong antioxidant activity. 6-Gingerol, 8-gingerol, and 10-gingerol can effectively eliminate 1,1-diphenyl-2-picylhydrazyl (DPPH), superoxide, and reactive hydroxyl radical (OH) [28]. Its key chemical basis lies in guaiacol structure and β-hydroxyketone structure, and its oxidation resistance is higher than that of antioxidants such as butyl hydroxyanisole, dibutyl hydroxytoluene and vitamins. It was found that [29], the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and GSSG in plasma of chickens treated with gingerol were significantly decreased, the value of GSSG/GSH was significantly increased, and the total antioxidant capacity was significantly improved. Among them, 6-gingerol acts on cell membrane lipids, cytochrome, superoxide radicals, hydroxyl radicals, and DPPH radicals, inhibiting the peroxidation, DNA fragmentation, cytochrome oxidation, and iron ion reduction of red blood cell membrane lipids. Its inhibition rate of DNA oxidation is as high as 91.26%, and the clearance rate of superoxide radicals, hydroxyl radicals, and DPPH radicals exceeds 80% [30]. Fresh ginger extracts such as 6-shogaol and fresh ginger essential oil also have antioxidant capacity. 6-shogaol acts on heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and Nrf2, increasing the mRNA and protein expression of HO-1 and Nrf2, reducing the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cells, and inhibiting oxidative damage in L6 skeletal muscle cells [31].

Fresh ginger also has anti-tumor activity, with its main active ingredients including gingerol and shogaol. The potential mechanisms include regulating cancer related signaling pathways, inducing cancer cell apoptosis, and inhibiting cancer cell growth and reproduction. According to research [32], fresh ginger extract promotes apoptosis by reducing the expression of genes related to Ras/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and PI3K/Akt pathway. Notably, although there were few studies on fresh ginger polysaccharide, its anti-tumor ability was not inferior to that of other active ingredients, and it could also promote apoptosis, block cells in G0/G1 phase, up-regulate the expression of antibody genes (Bax, Fas, FasL), caspase 3, and cell cycle coordination factors (p21, p53), and down-regulate the expression of B cell lymphoma/leukemia-2 (leukemia-2, Bcl-2) oncogene. 6-Shogaol may be more significant than 6-gingerol and 6-paradol in reducing cell survival rate and inducing apoptosis of human and mouse prostate cancer cells, and it mainly plays a role by inhibiting signal transduction and transcription activator 3 (STAT3) and NF-κB signal transduction [33].

Fresh ginger volatile oil and gingerol also have good anti-inflammatory activities, among which 6-paradol, 6-shogaol and 8-gingerol have strong anti-inflammatory activities, which can inhibit the inflammatory reaction by increasing the expression of anti-inflammatory factors, reducing the expression of inflammatory factors and pain-causing factors and blocking the activation of inflammation-related pathways [34]. Among them, cedrol in the fresh ginger volatile oil improved inflammatory cell infiltration and synovial hyperplasia by blocking the phosphorylation pathways of ERK/MAPK and p65/NF-κB signaling pathways [35]. In addition, 6-gingerol can inhibit the systemic inflammation of obese zebrafish by increasing the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 and activating c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and can also decrease the expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6 and inducible NO synthase, and down-regulate the signal pathway of serine-threonine Akt-MTOR signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3), so as to inhibit neuroinflammation mediated by microglia [36]. The anti-inflammatory effect of 6-gingerol may also be related to inhibiting the activation of macrophages and neutrophils and affecting the migration of monocytes and leukocytes [37]. In addition, some studies have shown that zingerone can reduce the expression of inflammatory factors such as PGE, NO, COX-2 and malondialdehyde (MDA) (oxidative stress index) and play an anti-inflammatory role [38].

Fresh ginger contains fresh ginger oil, gingerol, fresh ginger flavonoid, and fresh ginger polyphenol, all of which have varying degrees of antibacterial activity. Fresh ginger oil has a good inhibitory effect on fungi and bacteria, especially penicillium, Aspergillus Niger, Shigella dysenteriae and Bacillus thuringiensis, and the fresh ginger oil extracted by Soxhlet extraction method has a good inhibitory effect on Escherichia coli [39]. Gingerol has a strong inhibitory effect on Helicobacter pylori [40], presumably because 6-gingerol interacts with some enzymes needed for the growth of Helicobacter pylori to inhibit its growth and death. In addition, it was found that 6-gingerol, 6-paradol, and 6-shogaol could restrain the appearance of ergosterol, destroy the integrity of fungal cell membrane and lead to the death of fungi [41]. The flavonoids from Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens all had a certain inhibitory effect on various bacteria, and their inhibitory intensity on the bacteria was in the order of Bacillus subtilis > Aspergillus niger > Penicillium > Escherichia coli, and the minimum inhibitory concentration on the above bacteria was in the order of Escherichia coli (10%) > Penicillium (5%) > Aspergillus niger (3%) > Bacillus subtilis (1.5%) [42]. The antibacterial rate of fresh ginger polyphenol to Escherichia coli reached 75% [43]. At present, the antibacterial mechanism of fresh ginger needs further study and improvement.

Studies at home and abroad have shown that fresh ginger can play an anticoagulant role by resisting platelet aggregation, changing blood flow velocity and reducing blood viscosity. Lee et al. [44] found that, zingerone, the active ingredient of fresh ginger, can inhibit platelet aggregation by reducing the time of activating partial thromboplastin, and play an antithrombotic and anticoagulant role. Wang et al. [45] showed that fresh ginger polysaccharide prolonged prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thrombin time (ATPT) and inhibited coagulation of endogenous and exogenous pathways. Therefore, fresh ginger polysaccharide could be used as a natural anticoagulant and therapeutic agent. In addition, the fresh ginger alcohol extract was proven to be able to to significantly inhibit adenosine diphosphate-mediated platelet aggregation, possibly due to the inhibition of arachidonic acid-induced platelet aggregation by gingerol [46].

Gingerol compounds from fresh ginger can reduce the cholesterol content of the body by inhibiting cholesterol synthesis and increasing exogenous intake of cholesterol. Gingerol compounds from fresh ginger can also reduce blood lipid and glucose by reducing adipocyte differentiation, increasing fatty acid oxidation capacity, or inhibiting fatty acid synthesis, and reducing fatty acid and lipid accumulation of the body. The study found [47] that, by regulating nuclearfactor erythroidderived 2-like 2 (Nrf2), 6-gingerol can also reduce the levels of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and carboxymethyl lysine in the liver tissue of C57BL/6 mice fed with high-fat diet, improve the reduced glutathione, r-glutamyl cysteingl+glycine/ glutathiol (GSH/GSSG) value and reduce the complications caused by diabetes. Active ingredients such as gingerol have regulatory effects on humoral, cellular, and intestinal immunity [48], which can enhance the body's immune system, prevent and treat various immune disorders. Zhang Lihua et al. [49] found through network pharmacology that three active components of fresh ginger (6-gingerol, 8-gingerol and 10-gingerol) acted on 18 important target proteins in COVID-19, and the biological process enrichment mainly focused on inflammatory reaction and immune response, such as leukocyte differentiation, hematopoietic or lymphoid organ development, response to cytokines, immune system development, T cell activation and H cell activation.

Comprehensive pharmacological effect of dried ginger and its research situation

Experimental results showed that the main antioxidant components of dried ginger are zingerone, gingerol, shogaol and other compounds. Yang et al. [31] used H2O2 and azalea alcohol to induce oxidative stress in normal human primary melanocytes as a model, demonstrating that 6-shogaol can alleviate the damage of H2O2 and azalea alcohol to human primary melanocytes by upregulating the expression of antioxidant enzymes heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and quinone oxidoreductase-1 (Nqo1), activating Nrf2-antioxidant response element (Nrf2-ARE) pathway. Li Jiahui et al. [50] adopted selective reaction/multiple reaction monitoring (SRM/MRM) to conduct qualitative and quantitative analysis of the active components in dried ginger extracts and measure the antioxidant and in vitro uric acid reduction activities of Rhizoma Zingiberis extract and its active components. Dried ginger extracts have significant antioxidant effect and strong uric acid reduction activity. Li Shumei et al. [51] studied the effects of different temperature and pH on free radical scavenging ability of ginger flavonoid compounds from dried ginger by DPPH method, and also showed good antioxidant activity.

Dried ginger is the essential drug of warming the Middle-jiao, and its main active components are gingerol and shogaol, with 6-gingerol, 6-shogaol and 8-gingerol as its representative components. It has been successively reported by domestic and foreign journals that it has good natural anti-tumor effect and anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activity. John F. Lechner[52] thinks that its bioreactive constituents negatively affect carcinogenesis of multiple cell types via multiple molecular mechanisms. Ginger species have the property to bind to and inhibit the activity of cytoplasmic proteins. The mechanism(s) of this selectivity for gingerols, shogaols, and paradols appears to be differential activation of the glycosylated metabolites by higher levels of β-glucuronidase in the tumor cells, whereas zerumbone may discriminate because of cell-type-specific differential up-take. Geng Shengnan [53] screened a variety of active ingredients in dried ginger according to the two criteria of “five principles of drug-like properties” and “oral bioavailability” ≥30%, predicted the anti-tumor targets of various active ingredients and their corresponding drugs, and concluded that there were 52 effective active ingredients with good drug-like properties, oral and absorptive activities in dried ginger molecules, and 101 corresponding effective targets. There were 40 anti-tumor metastatic targets and 10 core targets in total. Pharmacological studies have shown that dried ginger and its monomer components have therapeutic effects on breast cancer, cervical cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer and other cancers. Among them, 6-gingerol has an obvious effect on the S phase of the proliferation cycle of human cervical cancer Hela cells (HeLa) [54]. It is speculated that it may inhibit cell proliferation by affecting the replication of genetic substances and the formation of nucleosomes.

The dried ginger shows good anti-inflammatory activity, and the dried ginger extract contains a large amount of gingerols and diphenyl isoheptanes. The diphenylheptane A contained in it can directly pass through a type 2 receptor protein (COX-2) receptor which affects the activity of lipoxygenase, thereby significantly reducing prostaglandin inflammatory mediators produced by metabolic enzyme processes such as arachidonase in vivo, and can further effectively enable fat to be incorporated into lysophospholipids from 20:4 fatty acid chains, thereby greatly increasing the content of glycerophospholipids which originally only contains about 20:4 fatty acid chains and playing a significant anti-inflammatory role [55]. In addition, dried ginger also has antibacterial activity. Li Jiaqi et al.[56] studied the antibacterial activity of the ethanol extracts of fresh ginger and dried ginger through in vitro antibacterial experiments. Data show that both ginger and dried ginger have strong inhibitory effects on Staphylococcus aureus, and have certain inhibitory effects on Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus subtilis, while ginger has no inhibitory effects on Escherichia coli, and dried ginger has weak inhibitory effects.

Dried ginger can stop bleeding, generate blood, and promote blood circulation. In terms of hemostasis, dried ginger can warm the spleen, harmonize the liver and stomach, stop bleeding, warm the stomach, descend qi, stop bleeding, warm yang, astringe the intestines, stop bleeding, warm channel and expelling cold, and stop bleeding. On the aspect of blood production, dried ginger can induce drugs to enter the blood and generate blood, or induce drugs to enter the qi and generate blood. On the aspect of blood circulation, the spicy and warm dried ginger can promote blood circulation. Modern experimental research also confirms that dried ginger has biological activities such as antiplatelet aggregation and anticoagulation [57]. Experimental study showed that the total effective rate of dried ginger liniment for the treatment of chapped hands and feet was 88.6%, which was higher than 68.0% of the control group. The reason was that dried ginger contained spicy ingredients such as volatile oil, which could promote local blood circulation and play a role in protecting the wound and promoting healing. In addition, the water extract and volatile oil of dried ginger have been found to have effects in preventing thrombosis and inhibiting platelet aggregation [58].

It is also reported that dried ginger can protect the liver and regulate metabolism and other pharmacological activities. The water extract of dried ginger can reduce the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) in rats with acute liver injury induced by acetaminophen, and enhance the activities of antioxidant and free radical scavenger glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), effectively weaken acetaminophen hepatotoxicity and improve the degree of hepatocyte necrosis [59]. Kucukler et al. [59] studied the protective mechanism of zingerone on VCM-induced liver toxicity in rats and found that zingerone could significantly reduce the levels of three inflammatory factors (NF-κB, tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β)) in rats with liver toxicity, and reduce the activity of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) enzyme. Besides, dried ginger contains aromatic volatile oil, which slightly stimulates the digestive tract and enhances intestinal tension, rhythm and peristalsis, thereby promoting gastrointestinal digestion [60]. Zhang Guanglong et al. [61] also found that 6-gingerol had effects on the changes of gastrointestinal hormone levels in rats such as gastrin, motilin, vasoactive intestinal acid peptide, and somatostatin, and could help improve gastric motility disorder in rats undergoing chemotherapy, and concluded that its effect might be related to the regulation of gastrointestinal hormone levels in animals and the protection of interstitial cells of Cajal. Zhang Xueqiang et al. [62] found that after treating patients with antibiotic associated diarrhea (AAD) with dried ginger, it can improve the biological abundance balance and diversity of the body’s intestinal microbiota and inflammatory response, reduce the colonization of Escherichia coli pathogens, increase the content of intestinal probiotics, and reduce acute colon infection damage. The combination of multiple target experiments has good therapeutic effects on symptoms and can effectively improve the intestinal microbial environment of AAD rat.

The examination of several varieties of ginger indicates that, apart from essential elements like cellulose, glucose, and lipids, the primary components consist of volatile oils, gingerols, diarylheptanoids, and active polysaccharides. Various processing techniques lead to differences in the composition of therapeutic components. This can be observed from the specified criteria for determination stated in the “Chinese Pharmacopoeia” (2020 edition), which highlight notable alterations in specific chemical constituents of ginger and its processed derivatives [3]. Table 2 presents the various categories and modifications in the types and content of components during processing.

Table 2 Classification and content of chemical active components in various types of ginger based on modern pharmacological research

As illustrated in Fig. 3, fresh ginger and dried ginger are two main subjects of pharmacological research on ginger. Most processed products are based on fresh ginger, and variations in the chemical components lead to differences in their medicinal effects, either in terms of intensity or subtle changes resulting from the addition or reduction of chemical constituents. By combining the principles of “identifying properties by effects, homology of properties and effects” with existing scientific research, an interplay and correlation between their chemical components and pharmacological actions can be observed.

Fig. 3

The connection and difference between the chemical composition and pharmacological effects of fresh ginger and dried ginger

Fresh ginger and dried ginger share similar chemical components that possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. However, fresh ginger exhibits a greater number of antioxidant targets and stronger effects, demonstrating its potent antioxidant activity. Additionally, fresh ginger is particularly effective in treating vomiting and inhibiting tumor activity, while dried ginger excels in protecting the liver and exerting antibacterial effects.

Pharmacological synthesis and research status of baked ginger and other processed products

At present, there is limited modern pharmacological research on less well-known ginger processed products such as baked ginger, ginger charcoal, and roasted ginger, with roasted ginger being particularly scarce. After review, a small amount of research has shown that baked ginger has pharmacological activities such as anticoagulation, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and antioxidant properties. Ginger charcoal has pharmacological activities such as warming menstruation, hemostasis, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic properties. For baked ginger, it was reported [63] that the water decoction of baked ginger could significantly shorten the bleeding time and clotting time of mice, while the water decoction of ginger charcoal could only significantly shorten the bleeding time of mice. In addition, the suspension of baked ginger, ginger charcoal, ether extract and water decoction all had a significant tendency to shorten the clotting time of mice. Secondly, the anti-inflammatory activity of baked ginger is also demonstrated [64]. The effects of dried ginger and baked ginger decoction on stress gastric ulcer, acetic acid-induced gastric ulcer, pyloric ligation-induced gastric ulcer and indomethacin-induced gastric ulcer in rats were studied. The results showed that the decoction of baked ginger had obvious inhibitory effect on stress gastric ulcer, acetic acid-induced gastric ulcer and pyloric ligation gastric ulcer in rats, but it was ineffective on indomethacin gastric ulcer; However, dried ginger has no such activity, which may be due to the fact that some water-soluble chemical active components of dried ginger can only be separated out after processing. In addition, studies have also found that the decoction of baked ginger and its medicinal rabbit serum have inhibitory effects on the in vitro growth of gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells and lung cancer A549 cells [65]. Its induction of tumor cell apoptosis and intervention in cell proliferation cycle may be the mechanism of its anticancer effect.

Ginger charcoal’s hemostatic activity was unique compared with that of ginger. At present, some scholars have found, using metabonomics technology, that ginger charcoal can enable the disordered endogenous biomarkers of rats with hemorrhage due to deficiency cold to return to the normal level, and identified tryptophan, glycine and lactic acid as the biomarkers for the warm-meridian hemostatic effect of ginger charcoal, revealing the warm-meridian hemostatic effect of ginger charcoal on the whole [66]. Secondly, relevant studies have found that the water decoction of carbonized ginger has a significant inhibitory effect on stress induced gastric ulcers and acetic acid induced gastric ulcers in rats, indicating that dried ginger charcoal may have anti-inflammatory effects. Some scholars also used the mouse hot bath tail flick method and hot plate method to measure the pain response time of mice, and found that the nano components of ginger charcoal have good analgesic effects on pain caused by mice in the hot bath and hot plate models [67]. In addition to the above pharmacological activities, related studies have found that different single components in ginger charcoal may have different pharmacological effects, that is, ginger charcoal may also have various physiological activities such as anti-tumor, anti-endocrine disorder, anti-pathogenic microorganisms, anti-vomiting, anti-nerve injury and cell protection. However, due to limited clinical experimental research on ginger charcoal and limited data available for reference, further basic research on the pharmacological effects and clinical applications of ginger charcoal should be carried out to further improve its pharmacological effects and clarify the mechanism of its characteristic hemostatic pharmacological effects.