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Inhibitory effects of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) essential oil on leukocyte migration in vivo and in vitro

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Abstract

Zingiber officinale Roscoe, popular name ginger, is grown naturally in many parts of the world, including Brazil. Ginger is used in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food and beverage industries and the essential oil has been used in folk medicine for manifold conditions including as an analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antirheumatic. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) essential oil (GEO) in an in vitro chemotaxis assay and on leukocyte–endothelial interactions in vivo. GEO was analyzed by GC–MS and the main components identified were ar-curcumene (59%), β-myrcene (14%), 1,8-cineol (8%), citral (7.5%), and zingiberene (7.5%). Oral administration of GEO (200–500 mg/kg) reduced the rolling and leukocyte adherence after 2 h of carrageenan injection (100 μg) into the scrotal chamber. The number of leukocytes migrated to the perivascular tissue 4 h after the irritant stimulus was also diminished. GEO in all doses tested (10−4, 10−3, or 10−2 μL/mL) caused a significant reduction of leukocyte chemotaxis (35.89 ± 4.33, 30.67 ± 0.70, and 35.85 ± 3.83%, respectively) toward casein stimuli. The data presented showed direct and systemic effects of GEO on leukocyte migration as an important mechanism of the anti-inflammatory action of ginger.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants from CAPES (Coordenadoria de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior) and CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico), Brazil. We thank Mr. Jailson Araujo Dantas and Mrs. Celia Regina Miranda for technical assistance.

Conflict of interest

All the authors declare that they have no potential conflicts of interest associated with any work submitted for publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, State University of Maringá, K-68, 106. Av. Colombo, 5790 Jd. Universitário., Maringá, PR, CEP 87020-900, Brazil

    Gessilda Alcantara Nogueira de Melo, Renata Grespan, Jefferson Pitelli Fonseca, Thiago Oliveira Farinha, Ciomar A. Bersani-Amado & Roberto Kenji Nakamura Cuman

  2. Department of Chemistry, State University of Maringá, Bloco 22. Av. Colombo, 5790 Jd. Universitário., Maringá, PR, CEP 87020-900, Brazil

    Expedito Leite da Silva & Adriano Lopes Romero

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  1. Gessilda Alcantara Nogueira de Melo
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Correspondence to Roberto Kenji Nakamura Cuman.

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Nogueira de Melo, G.A., Grespan, R., Fonseca, J.P. et al. Inhibitory effects of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) essential oil on leukocyte migration in vivo and in vitro. J Nat Med 65, 241–246 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11418-010-0479-5

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