Dr. Shana Buchanan, MBA, Certified in Veterinary Acupuncture, Certified in Veterinary Chiropractic, Veterinary Food Therapist, Certified in Chinese Veterinary Herbs
The therapeutic nature of ginger is a well-known fact in both Eastern and Western Medicine. Most are aware of fresh ginger properties. However, the dried form is warmer than the fresh and has several specific uses. One of the Chinese therapeutic actions is warming the Middle Jiao. Because it enters the Spleen and Stomach, dried ginger (DG) can aid in epigastric and abdominal coldness and pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea (Chen & Chen, 2004). In other words, DG helps with noninfectious causes of diarrhea and vomiting such as seen in chronic renal failure (CRF). This is an ideal substance to use in CRF since most animals with CRF are old, cold, and deficient. Thus, DG should alleviate the chronic vomiting and nausea experienced by CRF as well as warm the cold patient. The positive effect of ginger in pregnancy induced vomiting is well documented (Eden, et al., 2003). Unfortunately, pregnancy induced vomiting is not recognized in veterinary medicine. However, the use of ginger in pregnancy induced vomiting and cold causes can be extrapolated for the use in nausea and vomiting following chemotherapy for animals. Just as fresh ginger helps with delayed gastric nausea from chemotherapy treatments, DG can help in cases in which the animal is cold and deficient while receiving chemotherapy. However, most research has been performed on the fresh form or the extracts from the fresh form of ginger, and the use of DG will need to be extrapolated.
The therapeutic nature of ginger is a well-known fact in both Eastern and Western Medicine. Most are aware of fresh ginger properties. However, the dried form is warmer than the fresh and has several specific uses. One of the Chinese therapeutic actions is warming the Middle Jiao. Because it enters the Spleen and Stomach, dried ginger (DG) can aid in epigastric and abdominal coldness and pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea (Chen & Chen, 2004). In other words, DG helps with noninfectious causes of diarrhea and vomiting such as seen in chronic renal failure (CRF). This is an ideal substance to use in CRF since most animals with CRF are old, cold, and deficient. Thus, DG should alleviate the chronic vomiting and nausea experienced by CRF as well as warm the cold patient. The positive effect of ginger in pregnancy induced vomiting is well documented (Eden, et al., 2003). Unfortunately, pregnancy induced vomiting is not recognized in veterinary medicine. However, the use of ginger in pregnancy induced vomiting and cold causes can be extrapolated for the use in nausea and vomiting following chemotherapy for animals. Just as fresh ginger helps with delayed gastric nausea from chemotherapy treatments, DG can help in cases in which the animal is cold and deficient while receiving chemotherapy. However, most research has been performed on the fresh form or the extracts from the fresh form of ginger, and the use of DG will need to be extrapolated.
DG also warms the Lung and dissolves phlegm characterized by cough, wheezing, aversion to cold and profuse watery sputum (Chen & Chen, 2003). Such symptoms in small animals are manifested as chronic bronchitis, retching caused by a severe cough secondary to a collapsing trachea and congestive heart failure (CHF). If these symptoms are severe, rebellious qi rising upwards is a result of the coughing and can be quelled by DG.
DG is known to warm the channels and stop bleeding as a result of deficiency and cold. Deficiency and cold in this case are exhibited as hematemesis or hematochezia with blood that is thin and dark (Chen & Chen, 2003). As a result, DG can be used as part of a multimodal regimen to treat immune-mediated hemolytic anemia and immune-mediated thrombocytopenia. However, the few studies performed in the human medical field are those on healthy individuals in which DG did not have any effect on platelet activity (Lumb, 1994). This would be expected of normal individuals, and a different result could be projected on abnormal individuals. Therefore, further studies need to be studied on individuals with abnormal platelet activity and DG administration.
Another major function of DG is to dispel cold and dampness, especially cold and pain in the back and lower body (Chen & Chen, 2003). This is manifested as degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the hips. DJD is typically seen in large breed and older dogs. It is theorized that DG can be a part of the anti-inflammatory course of therapy for osteoarthritis of the coxo-femoral joints. Ginger has been proven in human medicine to have anti-inflammatory properties (Kasajima, et al., 2010 & Frondoza, et al., 2005). With the addition of DG in chronic DJD, the use of other potentially harmful non-steroidal anti-inflammatories can be reduced or eliminated.
Other modern research that can be applied to the use of DG in veterinary medicine is the anxiolytic properties (Kasture, et al, 2002) and the use in the treatment of type 2 diabetes (Choi & Islam, 2008). The anxiolytic properties of DG did not induce incoordination as diazepam and exhibited the same calming effects. DG also exhibited an insulinotropic anti-diabetic effect that fared better than garlic test subjects. It was proposed that better anti-diabetic effects of ginger may be obtained under normal and not experimental conditions (Choi & Islam, 2008).
Therefore, DG has modern research as well as ancient knowledge in the variety of therapeutic uses in ailing patients.
References
Chen, J. K. & ChenT. T. (2004). Chinese medical herbology and pharmacology. Gan jiagn (rhizome zingiberis). (pp. 450-451). City of Industry, CA: Art of Medicine Press, Inc.
Choi, H. & Islam, M.S. (March, 2008). Comparative effects of dietary ginger (Zinger officinale) and garlic (Allium sativum) investigated in a type 2 diabetes model of rats. Journal of medicinal food, 11 (1): 152-159. Retrieved on August 9, 2010 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed.
Eden, J.A., Ekangaki, A., & Willetts, K.E. (April, 2003). Effect of a ginger extract on pregnancy-induced nausea: a randomized controlled trial. The Australian & New Zealand Journal of obstetrics & gynaecology, 43 (2): 139-144. Retrieved August 9, 2010 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed.
Frondoza, C.G., Grzanna, R., & Lindmark L. (Summer, 2005). Ginger-an herbal medicinal product with broad anti-inflammatory actions. Journal of medicinal food, 8 (2): 125-132. Retrieved on August 9, 2010 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
Kasajima, N., Ke, Y., Murakami, N., Seki, A., Seo, J.W., Shan, S.J., Shimoda, H., & Tamura, S. (Feb, 2010). Anti-inflammatory properties of red ginger (Zingerber officinale var. rubra) extract and suppression of nitric oxide production by its constituents. Journal of medicinal food, 13 (1): 156-162. Retrieved on August 9, 2010 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
Kasture, S.B., Kasture V.S., Pal, S.C., Vishwakarma, S.L. (Nov, 2002). Anxiolytic and antiemetic acitivity of Zingiber officinale. Phytotherapy research: PTR, 16 (7): 621-626. Retrieved on August 9, 2010 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed.
Lumb, A.B. (Jan, 1994). Effect of dried ginger on human platelet function. Thrombosis and haemeostasis, 71 (1): 110-111. Retrieved on August 9, 2010 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed.
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