Sheng Jiang
StarZingiber officinale Rosc.
Traditionally used for
- Headaches
- Cough & breathing
- Colds & fever
- Digestion
- Pain & joints
Cautions & contraindications
- Bleeding disorders
☯ TCM Properties
Releases the Exterior and Disperses Wind-Cold; Warms the Middle Burner and Stops Vomiting; Warms the Lungs and Stops Cough; Resolves Phlegm; Reduces the toxicity of other herbs; Resolves Seafood Poisoning
Traditional Chinese Uses
Sheng Jiang (fresh ginger rhizome) holds a foundational role in Chinese herbal medicine as a warming, acrid herb that dispels cold, settles the Stomach, and relieves nausea. It is one of the most commonly used herbs for early-stage colds and chills, especially when accompanied by headache or stiff neck. Fresh ginger also counteracts the toxicity of many herbs and seafood, which is why it appears so often as an ingredient in compound formulas. It is considered a safe, food-grade herb suitable for everyday use.
Western Herbalism Properties
Pharmacological Effects
- Digestive: Fresh ginger decoction had a biphasic effect on gastric secretion in dogs (initial inhibition, then prolonged stimulation); oral fresh ginger raised gastric juice, free acid and lipase and lowered pepsin in Pavlov-pouch dogs. 6-shogaol and 6-gingerol inhibited gastric contraction.
- Antihepatotoxic: Gingerols and shogaols protected cultured rat hepatocytes against CCl4 and galactosamine; 7- and 8-homologues strongest.
- Antiemetic: Aqueous extract blocked CuSO4- but not apomorphine- or digitalis-induced vomiting in dogs (peripheral action); shogaols, zingerone and 6-, 8-, 10-gingerols/shogaols are active. Powdered ginger outperformed dimenhydrinate for motion sickness and reduced vomiting and cold sweating in seasickness in a double-blind placebo-controlled trial.
- CNS: 6-shogaol or 6-gingerol (70-140 mg/kg p.o. or 1.75-3.7 mg/kg i.v. in rats) reduced motor activity, were antipyretic and analgesic, prolonged hexobarbital sleep; 6-shogaol stronger and antitussive comparable to dihydrocodeine.
- Antiinflammatory: Fresh-ginger injection was anti-inflammatory in albumin- or formaldehyde-induced arthritis in rats.
- Cardiovascular and other: Chewing 1 g fresh ginger raised systolic (by 11.2 mmHg) and diastolic (14 mmHg) pressure in healthy people. Gingerols were positively inotropic on guinea pig atria (8- > 10- > 6-gingerol). 6-gingerol and gingerdiones inhibit prostaglandin biosynthesis; antimicrobial activity reported.
Source: Zhu YP. Chinese Materia Medica: Chemistry, Pharmacology and Applications. Harwood Academic, 1998, p. 55.
Used In Formulas (124)
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Zingiber officinale Roscoe is a herbaceous perennial in the family Zingiberaceae, reaching about 0.6 to 1.2 meters tall. The plant arises from a branched, aromatic, pale yellow rhizome with a knobby, jointed form and a fibrous interior. Leafy pseudostems bear two-ranked, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate leaves 15 to 30 cm long with sheathing bases and a prominent midrib. Flowers, rarely produced in cultivation, are borne on a separate stout scape arising directly from the rhizome and are arranged in a dense, cone-like spike of overlapping green bracts; individual flowers are small, yellow-green with a purple, cream-spotted lip. The plant is native to tropical and subtropical Asia and is now cultivated worldwide. In traditional Chinese medicine, the fresh rhizome is known as Sheng Jiang and is harvested before the leaves yellow; it is pungent, juicy and warming, distinguished from dried ginger (Gan Jiang) by its emphasis on releasing the exterior.
Active Constituents
6-Gingerol
Gingerol (aryl-alkanone / vanilloid)Concentration: Principal pungent constituent of fresh rhizome
The dominant pungent phenolic of fresh ginger and its main bioactive marker. Antiemetic (acts on 5-HT3 receptors and enhances gastric emptying), anti-inflammatory (COX/LOX and NF-κB inhibition) and antioxidant. Underlies the traditional actions of warming the middle and stopping vomiting.
8-Gingerol
Gingerol (aryl-alkanone)Concentration: Secondary gingerol homolog
A longer-chain gingerol contributing to pungency, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of the fresh rhizome.
10-Gingerol
Gingerol (aryl-alkanone)Concentration: Minor gingerol homolog
Contributes to anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity; part of the gingerol series characteristic of the fresh (raw) rhizome.
6-Shogaol
Shogaol (dehydrated gingerol)Concentration: Low in fresh ginger; increases markedly on drying/heating
Formed by dehydration of 6-gingerol during drying and heating (hence more abundant in dried ginger, Gan Jiang). More pungent than gingerol, with strong anti-inflammatory, antiemetic and antioxidant activity.
Zingerone
Vanillyl ketoneConcentration: Minor; increases with cooking
A less pungent degradation product of gingerols formed on cooking; possesses antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antidiarrheal activity.
Zingiberene
Sesquiterpene (volatile oil)Concentration: Major component of the essential oil
The characteristic aroma sesquiterpene of ginger volatile oil, contributing carminative and gastroprotective effects.
β-Bisabolene / β-sesquiphellandrene
Sesquiterpenes (volatile oil)Concentration: Notable volatile oil components
Aromatic sesquiterpenes that add to the carminative, antispasmodic profile of the essential oil.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Warfarin and other anticoagulants/antiplatelets
Ginger constituents can inhibit thromboxane synthesis and platelet aggregation in vitro, raising a theoretical additive bleeding risk with anticoagulant or antiplatelet drugs. Controlled human studies have generally found no significant change in INR or platelet function at dietary/therapeutic doses, so the interaction remains largely theoretical.
Clinical note: Caution and monitoring advised with high-dose ginger extracts plus warfarin, aspirin or NSAIDs; culinary amounts appear low risk.
Antidiabetic agents (insulin, sulfonylureas, metformin)
Ginger may modestly lower fasting glucose and improve insulin sensitivity, potentially adding to the effect of hypoglycemic drugs.
Clinical note: Monitor blood glucose if high-dose ginger supplements are combined with glucose-lowering therapy.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 3–10 g | Daily | — | — | 中国药典 2020 【用法与用量】3～10g。 【性味与归经】辛，微温。归肺、脾、胃经。 — Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020, quoted verbatim; route and cautions preserved. Replaces a cleared category-filler value. |
Preparation Methods
Fresh sliced rhizome decoction
Parts: fresh rhizome
Fresh ginger is sliced and decocted, typically 3-10 g, to release the exterior, warm the middle and stop vomiting. Often added to formulas to harmonize the stomach and to reduce the toxicity of harsh herbs such as Ban Xia and Fu Zi.
Ginger juice (Sheng Jiang Zhi)
Parts: fresh rhizome
Fresh rhizome is crushed and expressed; a few drops to a teaspoon are used, or other herbs are processed in the juice, to strengthen the anti-nausea and phlegm-transforming action and to temper toxic herbs.
Roasted ginger (Wei Jiang)
Parts: fresh rhizome
The fresh rhizome is roasted in ash or bran until the surface chars slightly, producing a warmer, more interior-focused herb that warms the middle and stops vomiting and diarrhea with less exterior-releasing action.
Dui Yao — Herb Pairs
The classical two-herb combinations this herb appears in, each with an action neither herb has alone.
Together they strongly direct stomach qi downward to stop vomiting, while the ginger moderates the toxicity of the pinellia.
Classic for vomiting from fluid and phlegm retained in the stomach.
Core pair of a classical formula — Xiao Ban Xia Tang, Jin Gui Yao Lue (Zhang Zhongjing)
Together they warm and harmonize the stomach and direct qi downward to stop nausea and hiccups from cold.
Core pair of a classical formula — Ju Pi Tang, Jin Gui Yao Lue (Zhang Zhongjing)
The middle is warmed and harmonised while the nutritive and protective levels are regulated, and harsh herbs are moderated.
Named pairing — Bensky et al., Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica (3rd ed.)
Warming the Liver and stomach and directing rebellious qi downward, combined with warming the stomach to stop vomiting, which together settle cold rising turbid yin.
Cold in the Liver and stomach with vomiting of clear fluid, vertex headache, or dry heaves with frothy saliva.
Core pair of a classical formula — Wu Zhu Yu Tang, Shang Han Lun (Zhang Zhongjing)
Evidence Tier
Strong evidence · 2 studiesRecorded studies by study design, strongest design at the top. This is a study-design tier only, not a GRADE rating: it does not weigh risk of bias, consistency or precision.
Systematic review / meta-analysis
2
2 verified · 0 unverified
Randomized controlled trial
0
Other clinical trial
0
Observational / case report
0
In vitro / animal
0
Other / unclassified
0
Verified: design read from PubMed for a DOI that resolves to the cited paper Unverified: taken from the study's recorded description
Clinical Studies
A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect and safety of ginger in the treatment of pregnancy-associated nausea and vomiting
Pooled 12 randomized controlled trials (1,278 pregnant women). Ginger significantly improved nausea versus placebo (mean difference 1.20, 95% CI 0.56-1.84) though it did not significantly reduce vomiting episodes, and no serious adverse pregnancy outcomes were attributed to ginger. The authors concluded ginger is a possibly effective and harmless option for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy.
The effectiveness and safety of ginger for pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting: a systematic review
Review of RCTs finding orally administered ginger significantly more effective than placebo in reducing the frequency of vomiting and intensity of nausea, with a favorable safety profile in pregnancy.
⚠ Safety & Contraindications
- Bleeding disorders
Contraindications
As it can assist fire and damage the yin, its use is prohibited in patients with exuberant heat, yin deficiency, and internal heat.
Source: Xi S, Gong Y. Essentials of Chinese Materia Medica and Medical Formulas. Academic Press/Elsevier, 2017, pp. 15–23.
Side Effects
- Fresh-ginger injection caused no local irritation or hemolysis.
Source: Zhu YP. Chinese Materia Medica: Chemistry, Pharmacology and Applications. Harwood Academic, 1998, p. 55.
Historical Texts
Shennong Bencao Jing (Divine Husbandman's Classic of Materia Medica)
Han dynasty (c. 200 CE)Shanghan Lun (Treatise on Cold Damage), Zhang Zhongjing
Eastern Han (c. 200 CE)References
- Viljoen E, Visser J, Koen N, Musekiwa A. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect and safety of ginger in the treatment of pregnancy-associated nausea and vomiting . Nutrition Journal (2014) [DOI]
- Ding M, Leach M, Bradley H. The effectiveness and safety of ginger for pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting: a systematic review . Women and Birth (2013) [DOI]
- Chinese Pharmacopoeia Commission. Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China (2020 Edition), Volume I — Sheng Jiang (Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens) . China Medical Science Press (2020) [DOI]
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.
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