Medicinal value of ginger with focus on its use in nausea and vomiting of pregnancy

Ginger (rhizome of Zingiber officinale) is a well known herb for its culinary and wide range of medicinal uses and is considered an essential component of the kitchen pharmacy. More commonly, ginger has been traditionally used in disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, as a stomachic, laxative, sialogogue, gastric emptying enhancer, appetizer, antiemetic, antidyspepsic, antispasmodic, and antiulcer agent with sufficient scientific support. Similarly, ginger has been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, antimigraine, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, diuretic, hypocholesterolemic, and antihypertensive activities. Recently, ginger has gained wide attention for its therapeutic role as a safe and effective preventive treatment option for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. Ginger has a long history of safety, as it has been used for centuries not only for medicinal purposes, but also as a food and spice. Although some health risk and safety concerns exist in the literature about its use by pregnant women, the clinical evidence of harm is lacking. Ginger might, therefore, be used as an effective treatment option for nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. In this article, we focus attention on these aspects of ginger.