Ginger may be effective in treating autoimmune diseases

Researchers from the US have found that consuming natural ginger supplements can help reduce inflammation in patients with autoimmune diseases. This is reported by Medical Xpress.

In the study, experts focused on examining how ginger supplements affect a type of white blood cell called neutrophils. They paid special attention to netosis, which is the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps.

Neutrophil extracellular traps are microscopic structures similar to spider webs that promote inflammation and blood clotting. The development of these processes increases the risk of autoimmune diseases including lupus, antiphospholipid syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis - neutrophils become overactive in these conditions.

As part of the experiment, the scientists gave participants 20 milligrams of ginger supplements for seven days. This helped curb the process of nontosis by increasing levels of a chemical called cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) inside the neutrophils. The cAMP blocked netosis in response to various disease-related stimuli.

Thus, the authors of the paper were able to discover the biological mechanism underlying the anti-inflammatory properties of ginger.

"We found that ginger is able to inhibit netosis, and this is important because it is a natural supplement that may be useful for treating inflammation in people with various autoimmune diseases," said senior co-author Kristen Demoruel.