The Effect of Daily Ginger Drinking on Platelet's Function in the Saudi Population

Herbal medicine products are dietary supplements that people take to improve their health. Many herbs have been used for a long time for claimed health benefits. They are sold as tablets, capsules, powders, beverages, extracts and fresh or dried plants. Herbal medicines have been associated with treatment of several physiological disorders of which hematological, mainly clotting disorders. Those include garlic, onion, and ginger in addition to pharmacological reagents such as aspirin, warfarin, heparin, and others. One of the herbal medications affecting hematological profile is ginger which has gained focus throughout studies conducted in previous years in the field of inhibiting platelet aggregation, taking benefit from some undesirable side effects arising from the use of other anti-platelet aggregation agents, especially aspirin.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a well known spice and flavoring agent used in traditional medicine in many countries. It is a source of valuable phytonutrients characterized by having aromatic odor and pungent taste. The ginger rhizome contains 60% starch, 10%proteins, 10% fats, 5% fibers, 6% inorganic material, 10% residual moisture, 1-4% essential oils including gingerol and zingiberene, in addition to pungent principles such as zingerone, gingerol and shogaol. Shogaols are produced by heating gingerols. It has been speculated that ginger can eliminate symptoms associated with a variety of illnesses since there are a variety of chemical classes that these compounds belong to. Ginger has been used in the management of headache, nervous diseases, nausea, and vomiting. It has also been used to treat migraine headaches without side-effects. In addition, it is recommended in the management of rheumatic disorders and muscular pain. Ginger also acts as a metabolic enhancer where acetone extracts of ginger have stimulated bile secretion and excretion of gallstones. Although ginger is considered a safe herbal medicine with only few and insignificant adverse side effects, few undesirable effects like heartburn were noticed. In quantities higher than 6 g ginger may act as a gastric irritant and inhalation of dust from ginger may produce immunoglobulin E (IGE)-mediated allergy.

As for ginger toxicity, an acute overdose of ginger is usually in excess of about 2g of ginger per kilogram of body mass depending on the ginger tolerance level and can result in a state of central nervous system over-stimulation called "ginger gitters".

Experimental data reveals that ginger may be a dual inhibitor of eicosanoid synthesis, inhibiting the synthesis of both prostaglandins and leukotrienes, which are inflammatory mediators produced from arachidonic acid. With reference to the fact that normal platelet functioning is linked to an interplay between those substances, ginger consumption appears to be linked with reducing platelet aggregation.

Platelets have traditionally been linked with concepts of hemostasis and hemorrhagic disorders. However, with increasing incidence of atherosclerosis and hematologic disorders, the critical role played by platelets is more evident. Platelets are no longer viewed as "scaffolding" for the events of the coagulation cascade but rather as important catalysts in hemostasis, thrombosis, and fibrinolysis. Improved understanding of platelet physiology has led to developments of pharmacologic adjuncts resulting in improved patency rates and improved patient outcomes. Platelets are the smallest components in the blood stream, where they exist as a-nucleate disc-shaped cells in their resting state and travel singly as discoidal particles. In the presence of stimuli such as arachidonic acid, activated platelets change shape into spiny spheres. They bind to fibrinogen, aggregate and release the contents of their intracellular granules, including adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and serotonin.