New research finds ginger shows certain autoimmune diseases in mice

Naturopathic medicine, or herbal medicine, is the rage, especially among young people. But how much of it is supported by science?

Ginger is known to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, making it a popular herbal supplement to treat inflammatory diseases.

And according to a Michigan Medicine led study published in JCI Insight, the major bioactive compound of ginger root, 6-gingerol, is therapeutic in counteracting the mechanism that triggers certain autoimmune diseases in mice. Researchers have specifically looked at lupus, a disease that attacks the body’s immune system, and the antiphospholipid syndrome that is often associated, which causes blood clots because both cause widespread inflammation and damage organs over time.

In mice with antiphospholipid syndrome or lupus, 6-gingerol prevented neutrophil release from extracellular traps, caused by the autoantibodies that cause these diseases.

“Neutrophil extracellular traps, or NETs, ​​come from white blood cells called neutrophils,” says lead author Ramadan Ali, Ph.D. “These tough spider-like structures are formed when motor body bodies interact with receptors on the surface of the neutrophil.”

According to Ali, these webs play an important role in the pathogenesis of lupus and antiphospholipid syndrome, where it causes the formation of antibodies and contributes to blood clotting and damage.

The study question was: “Will the anti-inflammatory properties of ginger expand to neutrophils, and specifically, can this natural medicine prevent neutrophils from making NETs that contribute to the progression of the disease?”

“This preclinical study in mice offers a surprising and exciting ‘yes’,” says Ali.

Ali discovered that the mice, after giving 6-gingerol, have lower levels NET. Their tendency to make blood clots has also been drastically reduced and it appears that 6-gingerol inhibits neutrophil enzymes called phosphodiesterases, which in turn reduces neutrophil activation.

But the most surprising finding of all was that the mice, regardless of whether they had antiphospholipid syndrome or lupus, reduced the motor body, suggesting that the inflammatory cycle, motor bodies that stimulate NETs that stimulate more motor bodies.

Next steps and potential implications

“Through my years of medical training, I have not learned much about supplements, but it is something that so many patients ask me about,” says study author and rheumatologist Jason Knight, MD. “When Ramadan brought the concept to me, I was enthusiastic about doing it in my lab because I knew it would matter to them. Sometimes our patients give us really good ideas!”

Although the study was performed in mouse models, Ali and Knight think that the preclinical data, which show that 6-gingerol has anti-neutrophilic properties that can protect against the progression of autoimmune diseases, encourage the development of clinical trials.

“In terms of basically all treatments in our field, one size does not fit all. But I wonder if there is a subgroup of autoimmune patients with hyperactive neutrophils that could benefit from increased intake of 6-gingerol,” says Knight. “It will be important to study neutrophils before and after treatment so that we can determine which subgroup is likely to see the benefit.”

The bioactive compound may not be the primary therapy for someone with active antiphospholipid syndrome or lupus, but the team is interested in seeing if the natural supplement can help those at high risk for disease development.

“Those who have autoantibodies but have no activated disease can benefit from this treatment as 6-gingerol is a protective agent in humans as in mice,” says Ali, who is passionate about natural medicine research for rheumatic diseases.

“Patients with active diseases take blood thinners, but what if there is also a natural supplement that helps reduce the amount of blood clots they produce? And what if we can reduce their autoantibodies?”