Analgesic and Anti-inflammatory Effects of Ginger Oil

Objective Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is widely used as a spice in cooking and as a medicinal herb in traditional herbal medicine. The present study was to investigate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of ginger oil in experimental animal models. Methods The analgesic effect of the oils was evaluated by the "acetic acid" and "hot-plate" test models of pain in mice. The anti-inflammatory effect of the oil was investigated in rats, using rat paw edema induced by carrageenan, adjuvant arthritis, and vascular permeability induced by bradykinin, arachidonic acid, and histamine. Indomethacin (1 mg/kg), Aspirin (0.5 g/kg) and Dexamethasone (2.5 mg/kg) were used respectively as reference drugs for comparison. Results The ginger oil (0.25-1.0 g/kg) produced significant analgesic effect against chemically- and thermally-induced nociceptive pain stimuli in mice (P < 0.05,="" 0.01).="" and="" the="" ginger="" oil="" (0.25-1.0="" g/kg)="" also="" significantly="" inhibited="" carrageenan-induced="" paw="" edema,="" adjuvant="" arthritis,="" and="" inflammatory="" mediators-induced="" vascular="" permeability="" in="" rats="" (p="">< 0.05,="" 0.001).="" conclusion="" these="" findings="" confirm="" that="" the="" ginger="" oil="" can="" be="" used="" to="" treat="" pain="" and="" chronic="" inflammation="" such="" as="" rheumatic="" arthritis.="">