I.N.G.W.E.R. – Instrumental Analysis of Nutritional Ginger Wellness Extracts & Residues

I.N.G.W.E.R. - Instrumental Analysis of Nutritional Ginger Wellness Extracts & Residues

Do you like hot or not? Ginger doesn’t taste just spicy – it has a personality. Fresh ginger is zesty and bright, almost citrusy, with a spicy sparkle that tickles more than it burns. Dried ginger, on the other hand, is deeper, warmer, and ready to spice up your life (literally). In short, ginger doesn’t just bring the heat … it brings the ginger-osity.

What’s so special about ginger?

The pungent ginger root (Zingiber officinale) is considered healthy. This is largely due to its gingerol content. The star ingredient in fresh, raw ginger is [6]-gingerol. It is the most abundant and best-studied compound in the raw root. Additionally, ginger also contains smaller amounts of [8]- and [10]-gingerol. However, when ginger is dried or heated, something fascinating happens. The gingerol undergoes a chemical transformation and turns into a new family of compounds called shogaols. Shogaol has high antioxidant capacity and can combat oxidative stress in the body. It also has anti-inflammatory properties and can help reduce pain and inflammation.

Figure 1: Structure of [6]-gingerol (drawn with MarvinSketch 6.0.1)

How can I use ginger to my advantage?

One of the most noticeable benefits of ginger is its positive effect on digestion. It stimulates digestive enzymes and helps food move more efficiently through the stomach and intestines. Ginger is also widely recognized for reducing nausea, particularly in cases such as motion sickness, mild gastrointestinal discomfort, and stress-related sickness. In addition, it may help relieve inflammatory symptoms such as joint pain and muscle soreness and contribute to overall immune support. In summary: When used consistently and in moderate amounts, it can support digestion, immunity, circulation, and overall vitality.

Figure 2: Picture generated with DALL-E (OpenAI; GPT-4o)

​”And I had but one penny in the world, thou shouldst have it to buy gingerbread.”
– William Shakespeare; Love's Labour's Lost –

Let´s take a closer look at I.N.G.W.E.R.

Different types of ginger shots were measured as well as fresh ginger root and ginger tea. The ginger shots/drinks were first centrifuged, and the supernatant (liquid) was removed. The remaining  precipitate (solid) was extracted with a mixture of MeOH:H₂O 50:50 (v/v) and centrifuged again. The obtained supernatant  was filtered through a 0.22 µm nylon filter and then injected into the HPLC system. Analysis was performed under reversed phase conditions with a KNAUER Eurospher II C18H column with a length of 150 millimeters and an inner diameter of 3 millimeters, packed with 3 µm particles (order number 15CE185E2G) at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min. The gingerol content was not quantified but the signal height was put into perspective compared to the fresh ginger root sample. It should be noted that not all ginger shots contained the same percentage of ginger.

Table 1: Percentage of ginger in shot samples according to their list of ingredients.

Sample	Volume [ml]	Ginger [%]
Vitamin Shot Acai	30	12.0
Fruit shot	30	2.0
Kurkuma	30	10.5
Pomegranate	30	17.0
Classic	30	17.0
Pineapple	30	12.3

Left: Chromatogram of fresh ginger root, 5 g sample was extracted with MeOH:H₂O; 1 – [6]-gingerol, 
2 – [8]-gingerol, 3 – [10]-gingerol

Right: Chromatogram of YogiTea ginger lemon, tea bag (1.8 g) was extracted with 200 ml hot water; 
1 – [6]-gingerol

Left: Chromatogram of classic ginger shot, 1 -  [6]-gingerol, 2 - [8]-gingerol, 3 - [6]-shogaol, 
4 - [10]-gingerol

Right: Chromatogram of  pomegranate ginger shot, 1 -  [6]-gingerol, 2 - [8]-gingerol, 3 - [6]-shogaol, 
4 - [10]-gingerol

Left: Chromatogram of Kurkuma ginger shot, 1 -  [6]-gingerol

Right: Chromatogram of  fruit shot, 1 -  [6]-gingerol

Left: Chromatogram of Vitamin Acai shot, 1 -  [6]-gingerol,  2 - [8]-gingerol, 3 - [6]-shogaol, 
4 - [10]-gingerol

Right: Chromatogram of  pineapple ginger shot, 1 -  [6]-gingerol, 2 - [8]-gingerol, 3 - [6]-shogaol, 
4 - [10]-gingerol

What have we found?

[6]-gingerol could be identified in all samples. Apart from the freshly extracted root, the classic ginger shot and the pomegranate ginger shot contained the highest amount of [6]-gingerol. The lowest amount of gingerol was found in the fruit shot. Additionally, [8]-gingerol, [10]-gingerol and [6]-shogaol were present in the classic, pomegranate, pineapple and vitamin acai samples. Due to extraction of the tea with hot water instead of methanol:water, only a small amount of gingerol was found. The investigated ginger shot samples can be a useful addition to your diet to explore the benefits of gingerol.

So, to get the best out of ginger and its [6]-gingerol, take a hot shot! 😊

Check out our KNAUER applications and AZURA (U)HPLC systems to see what else we already took a closer look on.

For further information on this topic, please contact our author: kramer@knauer.net