A REVIEW ON ANTIMICROBIAL AND ANTIOXIDENT EFFECT OF GINGER

Abstract

Zingiber officinale or ginger is a common plant consumed in culinary culture and traditional medicine, which has long been known for its wide array of medicinal properties. Ginger has attracted much scientific attention in recent years because of its high antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the principal bioactive constituents of ginger, i.e., gingerols, shogaols, and zingerone, responsible for its principal pharmacological action. Several in vitro and in vivo studies have established the efficacy of ginger against a wide variety of microbial pathogens such as Gram-positive and Gramnegative bacteria, fungi, and some viruses. The evidence is in favor of the notion that ginger has significant potential to be an antimicrobial drug of natural origin and may minimize dependence on chemical drugs with resistance development. In addition to its antimicrobial effect, ginger possesses excellent antioxidant activity. It plays a significant role in free radical scavenging and the mitigation of oxidative stress, the primary reason for the onset and aggravation of most chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. The review also discusses the mechanisms behind the effects, such as the inhibition of microbial adhesion and biofilm formation and the modulation of cellular antioxidant enzymes. Furthermore, the applications of ginger also extend beyond medicine to food storage and utilization in pharmaceutical formulations and complementary therapy. Variability in content of bioactive compounds according to changes in growth, harvesting, and processing, as well as the absence of standard methods for extraction, are given as challenges to clinical translational options. Overall, this review underscores ginger's multifaceted therapeutic potential and invites further research, particularly clinical trials and standardization, to maximize its value in both medical and commercial usage.