Ginger

NutraPedia - Evidence-Based Supplement Research

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Research Overview

Across the studies reviewed here, ginger (Zingiber officinale) has been most studied in controlled human experiments for gastrointestinal physiology and symptom-related outcomes (e.g., nausea, gastric emptying, esophageal/lower esophageal sphincter function, appetite/satiety), and for exercise-related pain and recovery. Study designs are frequently randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, and often use crossover methods, but sample sizes are generally small (typically ~10–40 participants) and populations are usually healthy volunteers or young adults, which limits generalizability to clinical groups.

The strongest evidence in these studies supports measurable effects of ginger on upper gastrointestinal motor function and some symptom-related endpoints. One double-blind randomized study in healthy volunteers found ginger (1,200 mg) accelerated gastric emptying and increased antral contraction frequency without worsening gastrointestinal symptoms, suggesting a pro-motility effect under controlled conditions. A manometry study in healthy men reported increased lower esophageal sphincter relaxation during swallowing and reduced esophageal contraction velocity after 1 g ginger, a pattern the authors interpret as potentially consistent with antiflatulent effects. For pain, evidence is mixed by dosing regimen: a single acute 2 g dose did not meaningfully change quadriceps pain or perceived exertion during cycling, whereas 11 days of 2 g/day (raw or heat-treated) produced moderate reductions in delayed-onset muscle pain after eccentric exercise, indicating that repeated supplementation may be more relevant than acute dosing for hypoalgesic effects. In contrast, a controlled motion-sickness study found no protective effect of ginger (500–1,000 mg) versus placebo, despite some partial modulation of motion-sickness–associated gastric electrical changes; scopolamine was clearly effective, strengthening the conclusion that ginger is not reliably effective for experimentally induced motion sickness in that paradigm.

Key areas needing more research include (1) replication in larger, more diverse samples and in symptomatic patient populations (e.g., functional dyspepsia, gastroparesis, reflux-related disorders) to determine clinical relevance of the observed pro-motility and LES effects; (2) clearer dose–response and formulation comparisons (powder vs fresh root vs beverages/syrups; timing relative to meals; acute vs chronic use), given divergent findings across outcomes; and (3) better linkage between physiological measures (gastric emptying, manometry, electrogastrography) and patient-centered endpoints (nausea severity, reflux symptoms, bloating/flatulence, functional capacity). The pregnancy-nausea trial referenced suggests an additional well-studied clinical domain (first-trimester nausea/vomiting), but the study is incomplete here; overall, more high-quality trials with standardized outcomes and safety monitoring are needed to define where ginger provides consistent, clinically meaningful benefit.

1. What conditions has Ginger been studied for?

  • Motion sickness (provoked by rotating chair/head-movement model; compared with placebo and scopolamine).

  • Exercise-related muscle pain (acute pain during moderate cycling after a single dose; delayed-onset muscle pain after eccentric exercise with 11 days of supplementation).

  • Appetite/thermogenesis and metabolic risk factors in overweight men (energy expenditure, hunger/fullness ratings, glucose/insulin/lipids/inflammatory markers).

  • Esophageal and lower esophageal sphincter (LES) function (manometry outcomes relevant to gas/flatulence symptoms).

  • Gastric motor function in healthy volunteers (gastric emptying time, antral contractions, fundus dimensions, post-meal symptoms).

  • Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (morning sickness) (ginger syrup or capsules/extract vs placebo; nausea/vomiting/retching outcomes).

  • Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) after gynecologic laparoscopy (pre-op ginger vs placebo; early post-op nausea/vomiting scores).

2. Does it work in treating those conditions? Summarize the evidence.

  • Motion sickness: likely not effective (in this model). In 28 volunteers, powdered ginger (500–1,000 mg) or fresh ginger (1,000 mg) provided no protection versus placebo, while scopolamine significantly increased tolerated head movements (p<0.01). Ginger also did not meaningfully improve gastric emptying during motion sickness, though it partially inhibited tachygastria.

  • Acute exercise pain during cycling: not effective. A single 2 g dose 30 minutes before 30 minutes of cycling showed no clinically meaningful or statistically significant effect on quadriceps pain, perceived exertion, work rate, HR, VO2, or recovery vs placebo.

  • Delayed-onset muscle pain after eccentric exercise: modest benefit. With 2 g/day for 11 days, both raw and heat-treated ginger reduced pain 24 hours after eccentric elbow-flexor exercise versus placebo (raw: 25% reduction, P=0.041; heated: 23% reduction, P=0.049). Effects on other outcomes (e.g., prostaglandin E2, swelling, ROM, strength) were smaller.

  • Appetite/thermogenesis in overweight men: mixed, preliminary. In 10 men, a hot beverage with 2 g ginger did not significantly change total resting energy expenditure (P=0.43) or respiratory quotient (P=0.41). It increased thermic effect of food at a timepoint (P=0.049) but not overall AUC (P=0.43). Subjective appetite ratings improved (lower hunger P=0.002; lower prospective intake P=0.004; fullness trend P=0.064). No effects were seen on glucose, insulin, lipids, or inflammatory markers.

  • Esophageal/LES function (gas/flatulence mechanism): physiologic effects observed, clinical benefit unproven. In 14 healthy men, 1 g ginger did not change resting LES pressure but increased percent LES relaxation during swallowing (significant at multiple timepoints) and decreased esophageal contraction velocity. This could plausibly aid gas expulsion, but symptoms were not directly tested.

  • Gastric emptying: accelerates emptying in healthy volunteers. In 24 healthy volunteers, 1,200 mg ginger reduced gastric half-emptying time (13.1±1.1 vs 26.7±3.1 min; P<0.01) and increased antral contraction frequency (P<0.005), without increasing GI symptoms in that study.

  • Morning sickness (pregnancy nausea/vomiting): evidence supports benefit for nausea; vomiting results vary.

    • Ginger syrup trial (26 women): by day 9, 77% of ginger vs 20% of placebo achieved ≥4-point nausea improvement; vomiting cessation by day 6 occurred in 67% of ginger vs 20% placebo (small study).

    • Capsule trial (70 randomized; 1 g/day for 4 days): nausea scores improved more with ginger (P=0.014) and vomiting episodes decreased more (P<0.001); Likert improvement: 28/32 ginger vs 10/35 placebo (P<0.001).

    • Extract trial (120 women; 125 mg extract 4×/day, equivalent to 1.5 g dried ginger): nausea experience score improved vs placebo; retching reduced; no significant effect on vomiting.

  • Postoperative nausea/vomiting after laparoscopy: no clear benefit in the reported early outcome. In 60 patients given 1.5 g ginger 1 hour pre-op, median nausea VAS at 2 hours post-op was not significantly different from placebo (both near zero).

3. What health benefits does it have?

  • Pregnancy-related nausea relief: Multiple placebo-controlled trials in first-trimester/early pregnancy show ginger (about 1–1.5 g/day) improves nausea, with mixed effects on vomiting.

  • Reduced muscle pain after muscle-damaging exercise: Daily 2 g supplementation for 11 days reduced pain 24 hours after eccentric exercise versus placebo.

  • Pro-motility gastric effects: In healthy volunteers, ginger accelerated gastric emptying and increased antral contractions (potentially relevant to dyspepsia/gastroparesis-type symptom clusters, though patient data are not provided in these studies).

  • Potential appetite effects: In a small crossover study in overweight men, ginger reduced subjective hunger and prospective intake ratings after a meal, though objective metabolic markers did not change.

  • Possible antiflatulent mechanism: Increased LES relaxation during swallowing and slower esophageal contraction velocity could facilitate gas expulsion, but direct symptom outcomes were not measured.

4. Does it have any downsides or side effects?

  • Limited adverse-event reporting in these studies: The pregnancy capsule trial reported no adverse effect on pregnancy outcome detected over the study’s follow-up; the extract trial reported infant outcomes within normal ranges compared with the hospital population.

  • Potential physiologic downside in reflux-prone individuals (theoretical based on manometry): Ginger increased LES relaxation during swallowing without changing resting pressure. While interpreted as possibly helping gas expulsion, increased relaxation could theoretically worsen reflux in susceptible people; this was not tested clinically in the study.

  • Not effective for some targeted uses: Lack of benefit in motion sickness and acute cycling pain means some users may take it without achieving the intended effect.

  • General limitations: Several studies are small (e.g., 10–28 participants) and short-term; side effects may be under-detected in small samples.

5. Is it beneficial or harmful for any genetic variations (pharmacogenomics)?

No pharmacogenomic findings are reported in the studies reviewed here. None of the studies stratified outcomes by genotype or evaluated gene–supplement interactions. Based on these studies alone, there is insufficient evidence to say ginger is beneficial or harmful for specific genetic variations.

References

  1. Effects of ginger on motion sickness susceptibility and gastric function
    J J Stewart, M J Wood, C D Wood, M E Mims (1991)
  2. Acute effects of dietary ginger on quadriceps muscle pain during moderate-intensity cycling exercise
    Christopher D Black, Patrick J Oconnor (2008)
  3. Ginger (Zingiber officinale) reduces muscle pain caused by eccentric exercise
    Christopher D Black, Matthew P Herring, David J Hurley, Patrick J O'Connor (2010)
  4. Ginger consumption enhances the thermic effect of food and promotes feelings of satiety without affecting metabolic and hormonal parameters in overweight men: a pilot study
    Muhammad S Mansour, Yu-Ming Ni, Amy L Roberts, Michael Kelleman, Arindam Roychoudhury (2012)
  5. Effect of ginger on lower esophageal sphincter pressure
    Supatra Lohsiriwat, Mayurat Rukkiat, Reawika Chaikomin, Somchai Leelakusolvong (2010)
  6. Effects of ginger on gastric emptying and motility in healthy humans
    Keng-Liang Wu, Christopher K Rayner, Seng-Kee Chuah, Chi-Sin Changchien, Sheng-Nan Lu (2008)
  7. Ginger syrup as an antiemetic in early pregnancy
    Angela Keating, Ronald A Chez (2002)
  8. Ginger for nausea and vomiting in pregnancy: randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled trial
    T Vutyavanich, T Kraisarin, R Ruangsri (2001)
  9. Effect of a ginger extract on pregnancy-induced nausea: a randomised controlled trial
    Karen E Willetts, Abie Ekangaki, John A Eden (2003)
  10. Effectiveness of ginger for prevention of nausea and vomiting after gynecological laparoscopy
    Sirirat Apariman, Sawinee Ratchanon, Budsaba Wiriyasirivej (2006)
  11. The efficacy of ginger in prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting after major gynecologic surgery
    Tongta Nanthakomon, Densak Pongrojpaw (2006)
  12. The efficacy of ginger for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting: a meta-analysis
    Nathorn Chaiyakunapruk, Nantawarn Kitikannakorn, Surakit Nathisuwan, Kittiboon Leeprakobboon, Chutchai Leelasettagool (2006)
  13. Vertigo-reducing effect of ginger root. A controlled clinical study
    A Grøntved, E Hentzer (1986)
  14. A randomized controlled trial of ginger to treat nausea and vomiting in pregnancy
    Caroline Smith, Caroline Crowther, Kristyn Willson, Neil Hotham, Vicki McMillian (2004)
  15. Ginger treatment of hyperemesis gravidarum
    W Fischer-Rasmussen, S K Kjaer, C Dahl, U Asping (1991)
  16. Comparing analgesic effects of a topical herbal mixed medicine with salicylate in patients with knee osteoarthritis
    Mohsen Zahmatkash, Mohammad Reza Vafaeenasab (2011)
  17. A randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over study of ginger extracts and ibuprofen in osteoarthritis
    H Bliddal, A Rosetzsky, P Schlichting, M S Weidner, L A Andersen (2000)
  18. Effectiveness and safety of steamed ginger extract on mild osteoarthritis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial
    Hyang-Im Baek, Lei Shen, Ki-Chan Ha, Yu Kyung Park, Cha Soon Kim (2024)
  19. Anti-emetic effect of ginger powder versus placebo as an add-on therapy in children and young adults receiving high emetogenic chemotherapy
    Anu Kochanujan Pillai, Kamlesh K Sharma, Yogendra K Gupta, Sameer Bakhshi (2011)
  20. Effect of ginger on gastric motility and symptoms of functional dyspepsia
    Ming-Luen Hu, Christophan K Rayner, Keng-Liang Wu, Seng-Kee Chuah, Wei-Chen Tai (2011)


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This article summarizes published research for educational purposes. It is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor before starting, stopping, or changing any supplement or medication.

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