Abstract

A REVIEW ON THE ANTI-DIABETIC PROPERTIES OF GINGER

Rakhi Nair V.*, Boby Johns George, Daisy. P. A, Praveen Raj, Noby Thomas, Jenny Samuel, Betty Carla*

ABSTRACT

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosco.) is a flowering plant belonging to the family Zingiberaceae, whose rhizome is widely used as a spice or a folk medicine. The ginger plants grown in India show the largest amount of genetic variation. Diabetes mellitus type 2 (also known as type 2 diabetes) is a long term metabolic disorder that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Type 2 diabetes makes up about 90% of cases of diabetes. Rates of type 2 diabetes have increased markedly since 1960 in parallel with obesity. As of 2013 there were approximately 368 million people diagnosed with the disease compared to around 30 million in 1985. Typically it begins in middle or older age, although rates of type 2 diabetes are increasing in young people. Type 2 diabetes is associated with a ten-year-shorter life expectancy. In India there are 10 million cases per year. A study published in the August 2012 edition of the natural product journal Planta Medica suggested that ginger may improve long-term blood sugar control for people with type 2 diabetes. Researchers from the University of Sydney, Australia, found that extracts from Buderim Ginger (Australian grown ginger) rich in gingerols - the major active component of ginger rhizome - can increase uptake of glucose into muscle cells without using insulin, and may therefore assist in the management of high blood sugar levels. Treatment with the extracts led to a 35 per cent drop in blood glucose levels and a 10 per cent increase in plasma insulin levels. This review is based on the anti-diabetic property of ginger based on various studies.

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