A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect and safety of ginger in the treatment of pregnancy-associated nausea and vomiting

Abstract

Background and objectivesNausea and vomiting during pregnancy (NVP) occur commonly. Possible harmful side-effects of conventional medicine to the fetus create the need for alternative options to relieve NVP. This systematic review (SR) investigated current evidence regarding orally administered ginger for the treatment of NVP. The primary objective was to assess the effectiveness of ginger in treating NVP. The secondary objective was to assess the safety of ginger during pregnancy.MethodsA comprehensive electronic bibliographic database search was carried out. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of the efficacy of orally administered ginger, as treatment for NVP in pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy, published in English, were included. Two researchers independently extracted data and assessed trial quality. RevMan5 software (Cochrane Collaboration) was used for data analysis. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsTwelve RCTs involving 1278 pregnant women were included. Ginger significantly improved the symptoms of nausea when compared to placebo (MD 1.20, 95% CI 0.56-1.84, p = 0.0002, I2 = 0%). Ginger did not significantly reduce the number of vomiting episodes during NVP, when compared to placebo, although there was a trend towards improvement (MD 0.72, 95% CI -0.03-1.46, p = 0.06, I2 = 71%). Subgroup analyses seemed to favor the lower daily dosage of <1500 mg ginger for nausea relief. Ginger did not pose a significant risk for spontaneous abortion compared to placebo (RR 3.14, 95% CI 0.65-15.11, p = 0.15; I2 = 0%), or to vitamin B6 (RR 0.49, 95% CI 0.17-1.42, p = 0.19, I2 = 40%). Similarly, ginger did not pose a significant risk for the side-effects of heartburn or drowsiness.ConclusionsThis review suggests potential benefits of ginger in reducing nausea symptoms in pregnancy (bearing in mind the limited number of studies, variable outcome reporting and low quality of evidence). Ginger did not significantly affect vomiting episodes, nor pose a risk for side-effects or adverse events during pregnancy. Based on evidence from this SR, ginger could be considered a harmless and possibly effective alternative option for women suffering from NVP.International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) registration number: CRD42011001237.

Attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of Australia dietitians regarding dietary supplements: A cross-sectional survey

“…All authors were involved in the dissemination of the survey study. (8) All values presented as n (column%) All values presented as row%(n) M A N U S C R I P T A lack of interest in this area 3 (6) M A N U S C R I P T…”

“…homeopathy), [2] the use of dietary supplements for an extensive range of specific conditions including, but not limited to, hypertension, antibiotic-associated diarrhea, morning sickness, and in the critically ill have shown promise. [3][4][5][6][7] However, while there has been a significant amount of published literature investigating the attitudes and levels of knowledge of healthcare practitioners regarding CAM [8][9][10][11][12], dietary supplements alone have not been well explored.…”

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“…The plants used in this study have been shown to be safe to use up to doses as large as 1gram [38][39][40][41] . Giving such high doses chronically may however have dire consequences.…”

Multi-Target-Wirkmechanismen des pflanzlichen Vielstoffgemischs Padma Lax bei Obstipation

“…Diese Hemmung korreliert mit den Ergebnissen der bereits oben genannten Studie zur Motilität mit Padma Lax [20]. Ferner ist Ingwer für seine antiemetischen, karminativen und spasmolytischen Eigenschaften bekannt [26][27][28][29].…”