Ginger is an herb. The rhizome (underground stem) is used as a spice and also as a
medicine. It can be used fresh, dried and powdered, or as a
juice or
oil.
Ginger is commonly used to treat various types of "stomach problems," including motion sickness, morning sickness,
colic, upset stomach, gas, diarrhea,
nausea and vomiting after surgery, as well as loss of appetite. Other uses include treating upper respiratory tract
infections,
cough, and bronchitis.
Park SH, Kyeong MS, Hwang Y, Ryu SY, Han SB, Kim Y.
Inhibition of LPS binding to MD-2 co-receptor for suppressing TLR4-mediated expression of inflammatory cytokine by 1-dehydro-10-gingerdione from dietary ginger. 1. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2012 Mar 23;419(4):735-40. Epub 2012 Feb 24. 
Myeloid differentiation
protein 2 (MD-2) is a co-receptor of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) for innate immunity. Here, we delineated a new mechanism of 1-dehydro-10-gingerdione (1D10G), one of pungent isolates from
ginger (Zingiber officinale), in the suppression of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced gene expression of inflammatory cytokines. 1D10G inhibited LPS binding to MD-2 with higher affinity than gingerol and shogaol from dietary
ginger. Moreover, 1D10G down-regulated TLR4-mediated expression of nuclear factor-?B (NF-?B) or activating
protein 1 (AP1)-target genes such as tumor necrosis factor ? (TNF-?) and interleukin-1?, as well as those of interferon (IFN) regulatory factor 3 (IRF3)-target IFN-? gene and IFN-? inducible
protein 10 (IP-10) in LPS-activated macrophages. Taken together, MD-2 is a molecular target in the anti-inflammatory action of 1D10G.
