Ginger nanoparticles show promise for inflammatory bowel disease
Ginger is said help give patients a cure for inflammatory bowel disease, according to research published in Biomaterials..
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a disorder that inflames the intestines. The causes of IBD is unknown, but researchers say that it is part of an autoimmune condition, where a person’s body starts suddenly attacking itself for no apparent reason.
Symptoms of this disease include diarrhea and pain, which ranges from mild to severe. The disease can cause other conditions such as anemia, since the intestines have less time to absorb nutrients effectively.
Ginger has been a long time remedy for many health issues such as colds, nausea, arthritis, migraines, and hypertension. Ginger in the form of tea has been drunk by many to aid digestion.
However, For this particular condition researchers say that ginger tea will not help. Instead they are looking at using ginger to remove its nanoparticles by centrifuging.
The team of researchers, led by Dr. Didier Merlin and the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University, started their tests by juicing fresh ginger root in a kitchen blender. They then use a super-high-speed centrifuge that achieves ultrasonic dispersion of the ginger juice, which then creates pellets. The nanoparticles are so small that over 300 of them fit across the width of a single human hair. These small particles are said to repair the intestine and encourage cell growth in the lining of the colon.