Extraction and isolation of 6-gingerol from ginger

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is one of the most commonly used as spice food and dietary supplement and has become an important ingredient in Ayurvedic and Chinese herbal medicines for the treatment of various diseases and disorders such as colds, nervous system disorders, asthma, gingival infections, toothache, paralysis, constipation, diabetes and rheumatism. Previous chemical investigations have revealed that the major chemical constituents of this plant are 6-gingerol and its derivatives which are responsible for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. In this paper, the optimum isolation conditions for 6-gingerol were obtained with the 3.61% yields by 80% ethanol for 120 min at 50 ^oC and the materal-to-liquid ratio of 1:20. The 6-gingerol was analyzed by gas chromatographic, as well as by comparison the retention times of the standard samples.