Pharmacognostic studies on Zingiber officinale roscoe

Abstract

Zingiber officinale (Ginger), one of the best-known spices, is highly esteemed for its pleasant, aromatic odour and warm, pungent taste. It is widely used in dried, preserved and green forms. It is widely used for flavoring a great variety of foods and in several nations for its medicinal properties. Ayurvedic texts report several medicinal applications of ginger in India. Ginger is considered a tonic for the digestive tract, stimulating digestion and toning the intestinal muscles. Ginger preparations are clinically useful to alleviate osteoarthritis or other pain; it also exerts in vitro antioxidative, antitumorigenic and immunomodulatory effects and is an effective antimicrobial and antiviral agent. Keeping all these points in a view in the present study aims at standardization of Zingiber officinale by pharmacognosy approach. Physicochemical and microbial limit test results revealed that parameters were found to be within the permissible limits. The microscopic and anatomical studies characters were unique. Further, phytochemical screening exhibited the presence of secondary constituents and TLC profiling of the samples illustrated bands when observed in visible light, under UV and also when sprayed with reagen.