Zingiber officinale Roscoe. (ginger) is a widely distributed plant with a long history of cultivation and consumption. Ginger can be used as a spice, condiment, food, nutrition, and as an herb. Significantly, the polysaccharides extracted from ginger show surprising and satisfactory biological activity, which explains the various benefits of ginger on human health, including anti-influenza, anti-colitis, anti-tussive, anti-oxidant, anti-tumor effects.
1. Introduction
Ginger is a perennial herb of the Zingiberaceae family, scientifically named
Zingiber officinale Roscoe.
[1][2]. As early as the 18th century, Europeans began using ginger to make beer, candy, bread, biscuits, and so on. It is also an indispensable seasoning in Japanese cuisine, Korean food, and Chinese food
[3][4]. Therefore, it is a widely distributed plant with a long cultivation history. It is now mainly cultivated and used in India, Nigeria, China, Burma, Indonesia, Australia, Japan, Sri Lanka, Germany, Greece, Arabia, and other countries. Among them, India, Nigeria, and China are the main producers of ginger, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations statistical database (FAO) in 2022
[5][6]. As an important plant with economic, ornamental, and even edible and medicinal values, it has attracted attention from multiple scientific fields. It is a rich source of nutrients such as protein, vitamins, minerals, fat, and crude fiber
[7][8][9]. It has attracted increasing interest from nutrition researchers and health-conscious consumers.
In its long history of application and consumption, ginger has been fully utilized and deeply developed as a nourishing food and traditional oriental medicine
[10][11][12]. As a “medicinal food homology” plant, ginger and its active ingredients are not only used as delicious food, but also as effective empirical medicine
[13][14]. Ginger can be used as tea or health drinks and is traditionally used to treat diseases such as colds, vomiting, and fatigue
[15][16][17]. In Africa, ginger essential oil is commonly used to relax muscles or treat muscle and joint pain, swelling, and inflammation. It can also be dripped in water and gargled to relieve toothache. In addition, ginger is an important part of Ayurveda preparation “Trikatu”. Trikatu can be used in combination with other drugs to treat asthma, bronchitis, dysentery, fever, and intestinal infections
[18]. Due to its health benefits such as enhancing immunity and promoting energy metabolism, ginger is widely used as a restorative supplement or medicinal food in folk
[19][20]. Officially, the Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020 version includes three related products, including Shengjiang (fresh ginger), Ganjiang (dried ginger), and Paojiang (fried ginger) (
Figure 1). Therefore, the nutritional and medicinal value of ginger has been widely recognized, meeting the needs of consumers for a healthy diet, nutritional intake, and dietary treatment.
Figure 1. A plant image of Zingiber officinale Roscoe. (ginger). (a) Shengjiang (fresh ginger); (b) Ganjiang (dried ginger); (c) Paojiang (fried ginger).
It is widely believed that ginger can be used as a nutritious vegetable or natural functional food. As ginger contains important phytochemicals and biologically active ingredients, such as volatile oil, curcumin, flavonoids, and polysaccharides, it is increasingly popular in daily diet
[21][22][23][24]. Gingerol, as an important source of ginger’s pungent taste, endows ginger with a unique spicy taste and is also one of the main active ingredients in ginger, which is often the focus of researchers
[25][26][27]. However, the macromolecular compound polysaccharides obtained from ginger exhibit surprising and satisfactory biological activities, which may explain their various benefits to human health, including anti-influenza, anti-colitis, anti-tussive, anti-oxidant, and anti-tumor effects
[28][29]. Currently, various polysaccharides have been extracted from ginger through different extraction and purification methods. Due to the diversity of the chemical structure of polysaccharides in ginger, as well as their different physicochemical properties and biological activities, it has attracted more and more research interest. Ginger polysaccharides are considered safe and non-toxic. At the same time, they have a variety of beneficial functions for the body, and have a good development prospect in food, cosmetics, medicine, and other industries
[30][31].
2. Extraction and Purification Methods of Ginger Polysaccharides
2.1. Extraction Methods of Ginger Polysaccharides
Effective extraction and purification of ginger polysaccharides is the main premise for studying the structures and biological activities of polysaccharides. In order to maximize the extraction efficiency of bioactive macromolecular polysaccharides from ginger, researchers have carried out a series of explorations into various extraction strategies, including the traditional extraction method of solvent extraction method (SEE), the novel extraction methods of enzyme-assisted extraction (EAE), and ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE). The specific information of various extraction methods is summarized in
Table 1.
Table 1. A summary of ginger polysaccharides extraction methods.
Polysaccharide Fraction |
Extraction Methods |
Time (min) |
Biological ActivitiesTemperature (°C) |
Solid–Liquid Ratio (g/mL) |
Total Yield (%) |
Ref. |
Source |
Compound Name |
Molecular Weights |
Monosaccharide Composition |
Ref. |
Compound Name |
In Vitro or In Vivo |
Indicated Concentrations and Animal Experiments/Test System |
Action or Mechanism |
Ref. |
Ginger polysaccharide (GPS) |
Complex-enzyme hydrolysis extraction |
60 min |
55 °C |
1:25 |
22.18% |
[32] |
Rhizome |
Ginger polysaccharide 2 (GP2) |
12.619 kDa |
Ara:Man:Glu:Gal = 4.78:16.70:61.77:16.75 |
[32] |
Anti-oxidant effects |
Polysaccharides from ginger stems and leaves (HWE-GSLP, UAE-GSLP, ASE-GSLP and EAE-GSLP) |
In vitro |
ABTS radical scavenging activity, DPPH radical scavenging activity, hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, superoxide radical scavenging activity, chelating activity, and ferric reducing power. |
ABTS radical scavenging activity: These samples’ anti-oxidant capacities of ABTS, although better than those of HWE-GSLP and UAE-GSLP, did not exceed those of Ascorbic acid (VC); DPPH radical scavenging activity: ASE-GSLP (IC50 = 0.492 mg/mL) < EAE-GSLP (IC50 = 0.975 mg/mL) < UAE-GSLP (IC50 = 2.877 mg/mL) < HWE-GSLP (IC50 = 3.583 mg/mL); Hydroxyl radical scavenging activity: ASE-GSLP exhibited higher hydroxyl radical scavenging activity than the other polysaccharides; Superoxide radical scavenging activity: The experimental IC50 values followed the trend ASE-GSLP < EAE-GSLP < UAE-GSLP < HWE-GSLP. |
[37][38][44] |
Ginger pomace polysaccharides extracted by hot water (HW-GPPs) |
Hot water extraction |
120 min |
70 °C |
1:40 |
12.13 ± 1.15% |
Rhizome |
Ginger polysaccharide 1 (GP1) |
6.128 kDa |
Man:Glu:Gal = 4.96:92.24:2.80 |
[32 | [ | 33] |
] |
Ginger pomace polysaccharides extracted by ultrasonic–assisted (UA-GPPs) |
Ultrasonic assisted extraction |
17 min |
74 °C |
1:40 |
16.62 ± 1.82% |
[33 |
Rhizome | ] |
Ginger polysaccharide (GP) |
Chelating activity: The strong Fe2+ chelating activity of EAE-GSLP and UAE-GSLP might be partially due to the high contents of–COOH and C-O groups in their structures; Ferric reducing power: In solutions of concentrations between 0.25 and 5.0 mg/mL, the reducing power of the EAE-GSLP was the greatest, followed by ASE-GSLP. |
N/A |
Rha:Ara:Man:Glu:Gal = 3.64:5.37:3.04:61.03:26.91 |
[ | 32] |
Anti-tumor effects |
Five purified ginger polysaccharides were obtained, namely HGP, EGP1, EGP2, UGP1 and UGP2 |
In vitro |
The human colon cancer HCT 116 cell line, human cervical cancer Hela cell line, human lung adenocarcinoma H1975 cell line, human breast cancer MCF-7 cell line, mouse melanoma B16 cell line |
UGP1 has a strong inhibitory effect on these kinds of tumor cells such as Hela and HCT116, of which the inhibitory effect of UGP1 on the human colon cancer HCT116 cell linen is relatively high (56.843 + 2.405%), which indicates that UGP1 may be a potential drug for the treatment of colon cancer. |
[ |
A neutral ginger polysaccharide fraction (NGP) |
Hot water extraction |
180 min |
90 °C |
1:20 |
N/A |
Ginger pomace |
Ginger pomace polysaccharide 1 extracted by hot water (HW-GPP1) |
[ | 45 | [ |
89.2 kDa | 34] |
Man:Rha:Glu = 19.40 ± 0.06:12.27 ± 0.05:68.33 ± 0.24 |
[ | 33 | ] |
] | [46] |
A water extracted polysaccharides (WEP) containing fraction from ginger rhizome |
Hot water extraction |
60 min |
100 °C |
N/A |
N/A |
[35] |
Ginger pomace |
Ginger pomace polysaccharide 2 extracted by hot water (HW-GPP2) |
939.8 kDa |
Man:Rha:Glu:Xyl:Ara = 11.84 ± 0.13:9.36 ± 0.02:58.05 ± 0.07:12.68 ± 0.15:8.07 ± 0.08. |
[ |
Non-immune mice: The CD3+, CD19+ and CD25+ cell proportions were up-regulated in thymus under MPs pretreatment. | 33 | ] |
Crude ginger polysaccharides were extracted by hot water extraction (HCGP) |
Hot water extraction |
240 min |
100 °C |
1:20 |
11.74 ± 0.23% |
[36] |
Ginger pomace |
Ginger pomace polysaccharide 3 extracted by hot water (HW-GPP3) |
1007.9 kDa |
Man:Rha:Glu:Gal:Xyl:Ara = 11.33 ± 0.05:13.90 ± 0.03:50.01 ± 0.13:10.96 ± 0.13:4.73 ± 0.09:9.07 ± 0.14 |
[33] |
Anti-colitis effects |
Ginger polysaccharides (GP) |
In vivo |
SPF grade eight-week-old male C57BL/6 mice |
GP alleviated UC symptoms by inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokines levels to regulate intestinal inflammation, repairing the intestinal barrier, as indicated by occludin-1 and ZOP-1, and regulating gut microbiota. |
[29] |
Crude ginger polysaccharides were extracted by enzyme assisted extraction (ECGP) |
Enzyme assisted extraction |
120 min |
40 °C |
1:25 |
7.00 ± 0.04% |
[36] |
Ginger pomace |
Ginger pomace polysaccharide 1 extracted by ultrasonic–assisted (UA-GPP1) |
40.6 kDa |
Man:Rha:Glu = 17.56 ± 0.11:7.72 ± 0.29:74.72 ± 0.27 |
[33] |
Crude ginger polysaccharides were extracted by ultrasonic cell grinder extraction (UCGP) |
Ultrasonic cell grinder extraction |
30 min |
N/A |
1:25 |
18.06 ± 0.05% |
[36 |
Ginger pomace | ] |
Ginger pomace polysaccharide 2 extracted by ultrasonic–assisted (UA-GPP2) |
868.1 kDa |
Man:Rha:Glu:Xyl:Ara = 13.18 ± 0.05:9.03 ± 0.08:63.78 ± 0.14:8.97 ± 0.15:5.04 ± 0.08 |
[ | 33] |
Polysaccharides from ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe.) stems and leaves (GSLP) |
Hot water extraction |
300 min |
100 °C |
1:20 |
6.83 ± 0.54% |
[37] |
36 kDa |
N/A |
[ |
Anti-tussive effects |
A water extracted ginger polysaccharides (WEP) |
In vivo |
Ginger pomace |
Ginger pomace polysaccharide 3 extracted by ultrasonic–assisted (UA-GPP3) |
892.7 kDa |
Man:Rha:Glu:Gal:Xyl:Ara = 8.32 ± 0.09:9.01 ± 0.02:59.28 ± 0.11:4.33 ± 0.03:12.19 ± 0.12:6.87 ± 0.05 |
[33] |
Polysaccharides from ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe.) stems and leaves (GSLP) |
Ultrasound-assisted extraction |
60 min |
50 °C |
1:20 |
8.29 ± 0.31% |
Rhizome |
A neutral ginger polysaccharide fraction (NGP) |
6.305 kDa |
Glu:Gal:Ara = 93.88:3.27:1.67 |
[34 | [ | 37] |
] |
Polysaccharides from ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe.) stems and leaves (GSLP) |
Alkaline solution extraction |
120 min |
25 °C35] |
25 and 50 mg/kg body weight, thirty adult healthy male TRIK strain guinea pigs |
1:20 |
11.38 ± 1.17% |
[ | 37 | ] |
Polysaccharides from ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe.) stems and leaves (GSLP) |
Enzyme-assisted extraction |
90 min |
50 °C |
1:20 |
8.13 ± 0.85% |
[37] |
Rhizome |
Ginger polysaccharides were extracted by hot water extraction (HGP) |
A novel polysaccharide (ZOP) was extracted from Zingiber officinale Roscoe. |
Ultrasonic assisted extraction |
120 min |
90 °C |
1:30 |
N/A |
[38] |
Ginger polysaccharide (GP) |
Hot water extraction |
60 min |
100 °C |
1: 20 |
N/A |
[29] |