A new study from Columbia University claims that purified components of ginger may prove to be an effective tool in reducing the severity of symptoms in asthma patients, helping them breathe more easily.
Characterized by bronchoconstriction, asthma symptoms are usually assessed by the use of beta-agonists, which relax the airway smooth muscle tissues (ASM) and relieve aggressive symptoms.
Now, thanks to this new study, extracts from ginger may help curb these symptoms more naturally.
"Asthma has become more prevalent in recent years, but despite an improved understanding of what causes asthma and how it develops, during the past 40 years few new treatment agents have been approved for targeting asthma symptoms," Elizabeth Townsend, lead author and post-doctoral research fellow at the Columbia University Department of Anesthesiology, said.
"In our study, we demonstrated that purified components of ginger can work synergistically with beta-agonists to relax ASM," she added.
The study researchers collected samples of ASM-airway smooth muscle, and exposed them to acetylcholine, thereby allowing them to contract. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter associated with bronchoconstriction.
After this, the researchers mixed together beta-agonist with three different components of ginger, to better identify exactly which of the components may be effective in reducing the severity of symptoms associated with asthma.
The three components were 6-shogaol, 6-gingerol and 8-gingerol, and after mixing them with the beta agonist, the mixtures obtained were then allowed to act on the ASM tissue samples.
The contracted muscle tissues were exposed to all of these three mixtures, and then to unadulterated isoproternol. The relaxations observed in the tissue samples were then carefully observed and recorded.
A close look gave the researchers a valuable insight into the healing properties of ginger. The tissue samples that were treated with both isoproternol and ginger compounds showed better relaxation than that of the tissue sample that was treated with isoproternol alone. Also, among the three ginger components, 6-shogaol turned out to be the most effective in relaxing the ASM.
The result of this study is expected to be presented at the American Society 2013 International Conference.
This study has paved way for new research and studies that may help explore the use of ginger in asthma medications.
