Major Bioactive Compounds in Essential Oils Extracted From the Rhizomes of Zingiber zerumbet (L) Smith: A Mini-Review on the Anti-allergic and Immunomodulatory Properties

Abstract

Zingiber zerumbet (L) Smith is part of the Zingiberaceae family, one of the largest families of the plant kingdom. Z. zerumbet is a perennial, aromatic and tuberose plant that grows in humid locations where its center of distribution is located in the South-East Asia region. This plant has been traditionally used in foods and beverages and for ornamental purposes. Although many studies have reported on the biomedical applications of Z. zerumbet, the anti-allergic effects of Z. zerumbet and its major bioactive compounds have not yet been summarized in detail. Many major metabolites that have been reported to contain anti-allergic properties are terpene compounds which can be found in the essential oil extracted from the rhizomes of Z. zerumbet, such as zerumbone, limonene, and humulene. The rhizome is among the part of Z. zerumbet that has been widely used for many studies due to its exceptional biomedical applications. Most of these studies have shown that the essential oil, which can be obtained through hydro-distillation of the rhizomes from Z. zerumbet, is enriched with various active metabolites. Therefore, this mini-review provides an overview of the main aspects related to the anti-allergic and immunomodulatory properties of the major bioactive compounds found in the essential oils extracted from the rhizomes of Z. zerumbet, with the aim of demonstrating the importance of essential oil extracted from the rhizomes of Z. zerumbet and its bioactive compounds in the treatment of allergy and allergy-related diseases, in addition to other widely reported and extensively studied biomedical applications.

Comparison of Chemical Composition and Bioactivities of Essential Oils from Fresh and Dry Rhizomes of Zingiber zerumbet (L.) Smith

“…e genus Zingiber includes about 141 species and is an important source of essential oil that is widely used in the perfume, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries [1][2][3]. Zingiber zerumbet (L.) Smith is an aromatic and tuberose plant of this genus and is commonly known as hong qiu jiang in China.…”

Formulation and Nanotechnology-Based Approaches for Solubility and Bioavailability Enhancement of Zerumbone

“…Zerumbone is known to exhibit numerous biological and pharmacological effects ( Figure 2 ) such as antitumor, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-nociceptive, hepatoprotective, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, gastro-protective, and antiproliferative through modulation of various molecular targets ( Figure 3 ) and signaling mechanisms. Multiple reviews and extensive amount of studies have been performed detailing the molecular targets of zerumbone for various chronic diseases and have been reviewed in references elsewhere in great detail [ 27 , 28 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 43 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 49 , 56 , 59 , 60 ].…”

“…Most well-known natural compounds are polyphenols, flavonoids, and terpenes [ 26 ]. Zerumbone is one such natural compound, classified as a sesquiterpenoid that is extracted from the essential volatile oil of rhizomes from wild ginger, Zingiber zerumbet [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ]. Zerumbone has been shown to possess strong antitumor [ 27 , 30 , 39 ], antioxidant [ 40 ], antimicrobial [ 41 ], anti-nociceptive [ 42 ], hepatoprotective [ 43 ], immunomodulatory [ 44 ], anti-inflammatory [ 33 , 45 , 46 ], and gastro-protective [ 40 ] activity.…”

“…Multiple reviews demonstrate the beneficial pharmacological effects of zerumbone for various diseases such as different types of cancer, wound healing, obesity, inflammatory bowel diseases [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 49 ]. However, to our knowledge, no review demonstrates the various formulation strategies developed to overcome the biopharmaceutical challenges related to zerumbone.…”

Chemical Composition, Antibacterial, Anti-Inflammatory, and Enzyme Inhibitory Activities of Essential Oil from Rhynchanthus beesianus Rhizome

“…The Zingiberaceae family comprises approximately 52 genera and 1600 species and is mainly distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions [ 6 , 7 ]. Many species of the Zingiberaceae are rich in essential oil and cultivated for their various applications in dyes, spices, ornamental, cosmetics, medicine, and food industries [ 7 , 8 ]. The essential oils from the Zingiberaceae plants have been demonstrated to have multiple bioactivities, such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antimutagenic, analgesic, anti-allergic, anti-ulcer, insecticidal, and immunomodulatory activities [ 5 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ].…”