A high level examination of clinical evidence confirms the large advantages for ginger health, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic effects to soften nausea during pregnancy, with potential as a sure natural therapy.
Review: pharmacological properties of ginger (Zingiber officinale): What do meta-analyzes say? A systematic review. Image credit: Barmalini / Shutterstock
In a recent systematic review published in Borders in pharmacologyResearchers from the Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Mercer University School of Medicine in the United States have gathered and synthesized five high quality clinical publications (meta-analyzes) to study the effects of ginger (Zingiber officinale) On inflammation, blood sugar and other physiological measures, thus informing its use as functional food.
The results of the examination confirm that the ginger supplementation considerably reduces the key markers of inflammation, lowers blood sugar and glycohemoglobin (HBA1C) in type 2 diabetes (T2D) and improves antioxidant status. It has also been shown that it effectively reduces nausea associated with pregnancy. However, it has not significantly reduced vomiting episodes, and vitamin B6 was significantly more effective in improving global nausea and symptoms of pregnancy (NVP) in certain trials. These results support Ginger’s potential as a generally safe and multifaceted therapeutic agent for various common health conditions, although quality and coherence limits of the study remain.
Background
Human history is full of examples of ancient cultures taking advantage of herbs and spices as more than flavors of flavors, but also to promote the health and treatment of disease. Ginger, with its characteristic spicy flavor derived from bioactive compounds such as gingerols and shogaols, remains one of the most famous. Zingiber officinale Has been used for millennia to treat everything, from digestive upheavals to inflammation.
Modern science has sought to validate these assertions, exploring the potential of ginger to manage conditions such as type 2 diabetes (T2D), oxidative stress and nausea and vomiting associated with pregnancy (PNF). Although many studies have studied the health benefits of Ginger, their results are often incoherent and confusing, making it difficult for clinicians and consumers to make informed decisions on consumption and dosage.
The meta-analyzes, reviews that pool the results of several randomized controlled trials (ECR) and reanalyze this data grouped in a holistic manner, approach confusion between studies and provide more substantial evidence. This study takes the next logical step: a systematic review of these meta-analyzes, creating a powerful high level summary of what we know about the clinical advantages of ginger.
About the review
This systematic review is trying to fill these knowledge gaps by making a “journal review” designed to consolidate the highest evidence on the therapeutic effects of ginger. The publications for inclusion in the journal have been identified via a search for personalized keywords of several credible online scientific standards (Pubmed, Scopus, Bosses, Cochrane and Isi Web of Science) at the end of March 2025. Subsequently, the title, the summary and the screening of the full text were used to assess the applicability of the study. Only five meta-analyzes were finally included by more than 2,000 recordings initially identified.
The journal focused on associations between consumption or supplementation in ginger and four key health results: inflammation, T2D, oxidative stress and NVP. Data extractions included crucial quantitative results and conclusions of each of these articles. These results grouped, the dosages used in underlying trials and the overall force of evidence have been examined, providing a robust and complete overview of the clinically established pharmacological effects of Ginger.
Results
This review established the physiological advantages of Ginger in the four areas of interest. A meta-analysis from Morvaridzadeh et al. (2020), which included 16 ECR, found that ginger supplementation caused significant reductions in key inflammatory markers, including C -reactive protein (CRP; Average difference = -5.11), high sensitivity CRP (MD = -0.88) and the factor of tumor -alpha necrosis (TNF -α) (MD = -0.85). These markers demonstrate associations validated with a wide range of chronic diseases. However, inter-school heterogeneity was very high (I²> 89%), which limits the strength of these conclusions.
The meta-analysis of Zhu et al. (2018) of 10 ECR revealed a powerful ginger effect on glycemic control. Supplementation has been observed as a significant drop in fasting blood sugar (MD = -21.24 mg / dl, p <0.001) and, significantly, also reduced by glycosylated hemoglobin (HBA1C) (MD = -1.00, p <0.001), a key indicator of long -term management of sugar in sugar in sugar. These results were supported by low heterogeneity, increasing their reliability.
The meta-analysis of 12 ecr by Sheikhossein et al. (2021) showed an improved antioxidant status after ginger supplementation. The spices have significantly reduced the levels of evil Malondialdehyde (MDA) (MD = -1.45, p = 0.001), a marker of lipid damage, while simultaneously increasing the activity of the antioxidant enzymatic peroxidase (GPX) (MD = 1.93, p = 0.029). However, it did not significantly increase the total antioxidant capacity (TAC).
For nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, a meta-analysis of Viljoen et al. (2014) of 12 ECR revealed that ginger was significantly more effective than placebo to reduce nausea symptoms (p = 0.0002). However, it did not have a statistically significant effect on the frequency of vomiting. This limitation has not been constantly highlighted in all studies. A distinct meta-analysis by Gaur et al. (2022) found that if ginger and vitamin B6 had comparable effects on vomiting, vitamin B6 was significantly better to improve the total scores of PNF symptoms. Ginger has also increased the risk of writing, a statistically significant side effect.
In particular, the typical ginger supplementation doses used in these trials varied from 500 to 1,500 mg per day for NVP and from 1 to 3 g per day for anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antidiabetic effects, highlighting a lack of normalization even in clinical research, without the supply of consumers. The authors underlined substantial heterogeneity in some of the meta-analyzes, in particular in inflammation studies, which further strengthens the need for robust public health directives and better quality trials.
Conclusions
The present systematic review synthesized the results of five meta-analyzes and found that ginger is a generally safe and potentially effective therapeutic agent with a moderate to strong evidence. Examining the results robustly supports its use as an effective anti-inflammatory, complementary therapy to manage T2D, a powerful antioxidant and a safe remedy for pregnancy nausea. However, its effects on vomiting is not systematically significant and vitamin B6 seems more effective global for PNF symptoms.
Although the evidence is substantial, high heterogeneity in several of the underlying meta-analyzes, variability in the formulation and dosage of ginger, and a risk of biases in studies (especially in NVP tests) suggest that other high-quality and high-quality trials are necessary. Future research and public health recommendations are necessary to define optimal files, delivery formats and patient populations.