Evaluation of the Acute Toxicity of the Ethanolic Extract of the Rhizome of Zingiber officinale Roscoe in Rats

Abstract

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is an herbaceous, perennial, rhizomatous plant that belongs to the Zingiberaceae family. 1 This plant is endemic to India and cultivated in South and South-East Asia, Africa, Latin America and Australia. 2 The rhizome of ginger has been processed into powder, syrup, volatile oil, and oleoresin. Clinical trials indicate that ginger can be ingested to alleviate nausea and vomiting induced by surgery, pain, diabetes, obesity, inflammation, male infertility, flatulent intestinal colic, indigestion, insomnia, to treat memory loss, rheumatism, stomach pain, and urinary tract infections. [3][4] Ginger has pharmacological activities such as antidiabetic 5 , antioxidant 6 , anticancer 7 , antineuroinflammatory 8 , antibacterial 9-11 , antiobesity 12 , immunomodulatory and antiallergic. 13 There are many compounds isolated from ginger. These can be classified into seven categories, which cover volatile oils such as α-zingiberene, which is the main component of the volatile oil of Z. officinale 14 , terpenoid analogues consisting mainly of monoterpene and sesquiterpene 15 , flavonoids 14 , gingerol analogues such as gingerol, shogaol, zingerone, paradol, gingerdione and gingerdiol 16 , diarylheptanoids that are a class of compounds with 1,7-disubstituted phenyl groups and a heptane structure, thus we have curcumin 14 , organic acids that can be differentiated into fatty acids, aromatic acids, oxalic and tartaric acids 17 , steroids, such as daucosterol and 24-propyl cholesterol. Gingerols are the main functional components and the characteristic aromatic ingredients of the Zingiber genus. 16 Plant species are currently important for their various therapeutic uses and play a significant role in traditional medicine. So, an evaluation of their safety profile must be carried out through toxicological studies. This study was carried out to evaluate the acute toxicity of the ethanolic extract of the rhizomes of Zingiber officinale on the biochemical and histopathological parameters of Albino Holtzman rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS Collection of the plant speciesThe rhizomes of Zingiber officinale Roscoe were collected in the town of Alto Toterani annex, Perenne district, Chanchamayo Province, Junín Department, Peru. The selected plant species were taken to the Natural History Museum of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos for taxonomic identification (Proof N°293-UNMSM-2018).