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36.
ZINGIBER OFFICINALE
Eng.
= Ginger, Ind. = Adrak,
sonth
Habitat
and Description
Ginger
is a perennial herb growing upto 3 o 4 feet.
It has underground branching stems ( rhizomes).
It is cultivated in tropical region such as India, China and
Jamaica. The sun-dried
ginger is known as sonth in Hindi. Its
constituents are gingerols, shaogols, gingerdiones and zingerone.
The hot taste and
stimulating properties of the herb are largely due to its constituent,
gingerol.
Parts
used : Rhizome
Actions
: Carminative,
stimulant and aphrodisiac
Therapeutic
uses
In Arthritis and related
disorders
Ginger
is an excellent painkiller. It
can cure all types of pain. A
compress of hot ginger relieves muscular aches and joint stiffness.
It can be used as a rubefacient in muscular pain. Oil prepared with
an equal quantity of mustard oil is applied to bring relief on sprained
joints. It also protects the stomach from the gastrointestinal side-effects of NSAIDs.
An extract of ginger taken in a dose of 250 mg twice daily reduces
the pain of patients suffering from osteoarthritis of knee.
Other uses
Cold
and cough, nausea and vomiting, motion sickness, hyperacidity, indigesion,
anorexia, abdominal pain, clots, painful menstruation, high blood pressure
and high cholesterol.
Mode
of Administration and Dosage
Ginger
juice is mixed with equal quantity of almond oil and heated for five
minutes. The warm paste of
fresh or dry ginger is
applied over he sprained part and covered with a bandage. Internally, it is used in the form of paste ( of both fresh
and dry ginger), juice ( of fresh ginger), powder ( of dry ginger ) and
decoction ( generally of dry ginger).
It is also added to tea or separately prepared as tea and taken. Paste, juice and powder can be taken as half teaspoonful (
2.5 ml or 2.5 gm) thrice a day. As
decoction, six teaspoonfuls ( 30 ml) is given three times a day).
Precaution
People
suffering from gastritis and peptic ulcer should not take ginger in high
doses. Ginger causes
irritation to the skin when applied externally and the stomach, when taken
internally. In the case of
such patients, it should be given only in small doses by adding jaggery,
sugar or honey. The patient
should be made to drink a
sufficient quantity of milk.
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