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. 2020 Jan 6;12(1):157.
doi: 10.3390/nu12010157.

Ginger on Human Health: A Comprehensive Systematic Review of 109 Randomized Controlled Trials

Nguyen Hoang Anh  1 , Sun Jo Kim  1 , Nguyen Phuoc Long  1 , Jung Eun Min  1 , Young Cheol Yoon  1 , Eun Goo Lee  1 , Mina Kim  1 , Tae Joon Kim  1 , Yoon Young Yang  1 , Eui Young Son  1 , Sang Jun Yoon  1 , Nguyen Co Diem  2 , Hyung Min Kim  1 , Sung Won Kwon  1
Affiliations

Ginger on Human Health: A Comprehensive Systematic Review of 109 Randomized Controlled Trials

Nguyen Hoang Anh et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Clinical applications of ginger with an expectation of clinical benefits are receiving significant attention. This systematic review aims to provide a comprehensive discussion in terms of the clinical effects of ginger in all reported areas. Following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guideline, randomized controlled trials on the effects of ginger were investigated. Accordingly, 109 eligible papers were fully extracted in terms of study design, population characteristics, evaluation systems, adverse effects, and main outcomes. The reporting quality of the included studies was assessed based on the Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing the risk of bias in randomized trials and integrated together with studies that investigated the same subjects. The included studies that examined the improvement of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy, inflammation, metabolic syndromes, digestive function, and colorectal cancer's markers were consistently supported, whereas other expected functions were relatively controversial. Nevertheless, only 43 clinical trials (39.4%) met the criterion of having a 'high quality of evidence.' In addition to the quality assessment result, small populations and unstandardized evaluation systems were the observed shortcomings in ginger clinical trials. Further studies with adequate designs are warranted to validate the reported clinical functions of ginger.

Keywords: ginger; human health; randomized controlled trials; systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The workflow of systematical search on ginger randomized clinical trials (RCTs) with five categorized substantial functions.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Features of ginger Randomized controlled trial (RCT) characteristics. (a) The trend in the publication of ginger RCTs over the decades, (b) the types of study design, (c) the ranges of pooled sample size per group, (d) the types of comparison in intervention, (e) the ranges of adopted dosage, and (f) the variety of ethnicity. N/A: Not available.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Methodological quality graph: The risk of bias for each item is expressed by percentage.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Distribution of ginger randomized controlled trials (RCTs) based on quality assessment (QA) score: a bright color indicates a ‘high quality of evidence,’ whereas a dark color indicates the opposite. (a) In total, 43 RCTs were addressed to have a high quality of evidence, and (b) each important function was evaluated (CINV: chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting; NVP: nausea and vomiting of pregnancy; PONV: postoperative nausea and vomiting).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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