• Wenjing Lai, Shasha Yang, Xia Lin, Xing Zhang, You Huang, Jingwei Zhou, Chaomei Fu, Rui Li, and Zhen Zhang.
• State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, Pharmacy College, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, P. R. China.
• Am. J. Chin. Med. 2022 Jan 1; 50 (4): 100710421007-1042.

AbstractGinger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) is a traditional edible medicinal herb with a wide range of uses and long cultivation history. Fresh ginger (Zingiberis Recens Rhizoma; Sheng Jiang in Chinese, SJ) and dried ginger (Zingiberis Rhizoma; Gan Jiang in Chinese, GJ) are designated as two famous traditional Chinese herbal medicines, which are different in plant cultivation, appearances and functions, together with traditional applications. Previous researches mainly focused on the differences in chemical composition between them, but there was no systematical comparison on the similarity concerning research achievements of the two herbs. Meanwhile, ginger has traditionally been used for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders, but so far, the possible interaction with human gut microbiota has hardly been considered. This review comprehensively presents similarities and differences between SJ and GJ retrospectively, particularly proposing them the significant differences in botany, phytochemistry and ethnopharmacology, which can be used as evidence for clinical application of SJ and GJ. Furthermore, the pharmacology of gut microbiota-related gastrointestinal benefits has also been discussed in order to explore better ways to prevent and treat gastrointestinal disorders, which can be used as a reference for further research.

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