Ginger root

Ginger (Shengjiang) is a commonly used medicinal herb that helps release the exterior and disperse cold. It is the fresh rhizome of the ginger plant, *Zingiber officinale* Rosc. (family Zingiberaceae). It helps release the exterior and disperse cold, warms the middle burner to helps with occasional occasional nausea, transforms phlegm to support respiratory comfort, and neutralizes toxins from fish and crab. It supports the body during wind-cold patterns, cold-related stomach discomfort with nausea, cold-phlegm patterns affecting the Lungs, and occasional discomfort from fish and crab consumption.

Functions and Benefits

Function

supports the body’s ability to release external cold factors and maintain a warm internal environment, helps maintain a comfortable digestive process and supports occasional digestive warmth, supports respiratory health and helps reduce occasional phlegm, and helps maintain digestive balance when consuming fish and crab.

Primary Functions

Zingiber officinale (Shengjiang) supports the body’s resistance to Wind-Cold patterns, helps maintain stomach warmth and comfort, promotes respiratory health and the normal resolution of cold phlegm, and aids the body’s natural response to food sensitivities such as those from fish and crab.

Usage and Dosage

For oral administration: decoct in water, 3-10 g.

Precautions

1. Pregnant and lactating women should use ginger (Shengjiang) with caution, preferably under the guidance of a doctor.

2. When using Zingiber officinale (ginger) for children, adjust the dosage according to age and weight to avoid excessive intake.

Chemical constituents

This product primarily contains volatile oils: α-zingiberene, β-santalol, β-phellandrene, 6-gingerol, 3-gingerol, 4-gingerol, 5-gingerol, 8-shogaol, 10-shogaol, zingerone, gingerol, gingerenone, shogaol, etc.; it also contains various amino acids such as aspartic acid, glutamic acid, and serine.

Pharmacological Actions

This product helps maintain normal body temperature, supports occasional discomfort relief, promotes a healthy inflammatory response, supports balanced immune function, aids digestive comfort, supports gastric mucosal health, promotes calmness and nervous system health, supports cardiovascular system function, helps maintain the body’s natural defenses, and provides antioxidant support.

Related Discussion

1、Mingyi Bielu (Miscellaneous Records of Famous Physicians): supports the body during occasional episodes of head discomfort and nasal stuffiness, and helps maintain normal respiratory function and comfortable breathing.

2. *Yao Xing Lun* (Treatise on Medicinal Properties): It supports the body in addressing occasional phlegm and fluid fullness, and helps regulate the downward movement of qi. Both fresh and dried forms support respiratory comfort, help maintain well-being during seasonal transitions, and assist with occasional nausea while supporting healthy appetite.

3. Yixue Qiyuan (Origins of Medicine): mitigates the toxicity of prepared Magnolia officinalis (Houpo) and processed Pinellia ternata (Banxia)… supports a warm and comfortable digestive system and helps maintain a healthy fluid balance.

Clinical Applications

Clinical Applications

1. For supporting the body during wind-cold discomfort, it may be decocted alone or combined with brown sugar and scallion white for oral administration. When used together with acrid-warm exterior-releasing herbs such as Ramulus Cinnamomi (Guizhi) and Notopterygium incisum (Qianghuo), it helps enhance the body’s ability to release the exterior through normal sweating.

2. For addressing Cold patterns of the Spleen and Stomach, it is appropriate to combine with warming interior herbs such as *Alpinia officinarum* (Gaoliangjiang) and *Piper nigrum* (Hujiao). If there is concurrent Spleen and Stomach Qi Deficiency, it is suitable to combine with Qi-supplementing and Spleen-tonifying herbs such as *Panax ginseng* (Renshen) and *Atractylodes macrocephala* (Baizhu).

3. For supporting the stomach’s natural function and helping with occasional discomfort due to cold, it may be combined with herbs that support stomach warmth and helps with occasional nausea, such as *Alpinia officinarum* (Gaoliangjiang) and *Amomum cardamomum* (Baikoukou). In cases of vomiting related to phlegm-fluid accumulation, it is often paired with *Pinellia ternata* (Banxia) to form Xiao Banxia Tang (Minor Pinellia Decoction), as recorded in the *Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber*. For vomiting associated with stomach heat, it can be combined with herbs that help maintain a balanced stomach environment and support normal digestion, such as *Coptis chinensis* (Huanglian), *Bambusa textilis* (Zhuru), and *Eriobotrya japonica* (Pipa Ye).

4. In cases of Lung Cold with Cough, if wind-cold affects the Lung presenting with copious phlegm, cough, aversion to cold, and headache, it is often combined with Ephedra sinica (Mahuang) and Prunus armeniaca (Xingren), as in San’ao Tang (Three-Item Decoction) from the *Prescriptions of the Bureau of Taiping People’s Welfare Pharmacy*. When there is no external pathogen but copious phlegm, it is often combined with Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium (Chenpi) and Pinelliae Rhizoma (Banxia), as in Erchen Tang (Two supports Decoction) from the same source.

Related Compatibility

1. The combination of Zingiber officinale (Shengjiang) and Ziziphus jujuba (Dazao): Shengjiang supports perspiration, assists the body’s natural response to occasional chill, and harmonizes the stomach; Dazao supports Qi, nurtures the middle burner, and tonifies the Spleen. Together, they work to nourish the Spleen and stomach and harmonize the nutritive and defensive (Ying and Wei) aspects. When included in formulas that support the exterior, they help maintain a balanced response to environmental wind while harmonizing the nutritive and defensive. When included in formulas that strengthen the Spleen and regulate Qi, they support the regulation and tonification of the Spleen and stomach. This pair is commonly used to support individuals with a weakened constitution who experience occasional external wind-cold or internal Spleen-stomach disharmony.

2. Ginger juice (Zingiber officinale, Shengjiang) paired with Bamboo sap (Zhuli): Ginger juice harmonizes the middle burner and promotes diffusion and dispersion of phlegm, while also counteracting the cold nature of bamboo sap. Bamboo sap helps clear heat and transform phlegm, supporting calming of the spirit and meridian circulation. Together, they effectively support phlegm elimination and meridian circulation. This combination is commonly applied for occasional cough with phlegm, headaches, temporary speech difficulties, and limb discomfort associated with internal heat and phlegm patterns.

3. Ginger (Zingiber officinale, Shengjiang) paired with Bamboo Shavings (Zhuru): Ginger supports warming the middle burner and helps maintain digestive comfort; Bamboo Shavings help clear heat and support digestive comfort. When combined, they enhance the effect of supporting downward qi movement and gastric comfort, while the warming and clearing properties balance each other—providing a warm but non-drying, and clear but non-harsh action. This pairing supports stomach harmony and downward qi movement without creating a bias toward cold or heat. For patterns involving upward rebellious stomach qi that may manifest as occasional nausea or discomfort, this combination can be used. For those with a tendency to heat, add Coptis chinensis (Huanglian), Phragmites communis (Lugen), and Eriobotrya japonica (Pipaye); for those with a tendency to cold, add Amomum compactum (Baido kou), Citri reticulatae Pericarpium (Chenpi), and Pinellia ternata (Banxia).

4. Ginger Juice (Zingiber officinale juice) Combined with White Honey (Mel): Ginger juice is acrid and dispersing, helping to transform phlegm, dissipate nodules, and helps with occasional occasional nausea. White honey is moistening, nourishing yin, moistening dryness, and supporting regular bowel movements. When combined, the acrid opening action and the moistening descending action complement each other, working together to support the opening of blockages and the descending of Qi through a synergy of acrid and moistening properties. This combination is often used to support individuals experiencing chest and epigastric stuffiness, nausea with phlegm and saliva, and dry stools.

5. Ginger Juice Combined with Radish Juice: Ginger juice is acrid and dispersing, helping to dissolve phlegm and disperse accumulations, and supporting stomach harmony while helping with occasional nausea. Radish juice helps regulate Qi, relax the chest, and promote diaphragm comfort. Combined, they support the dissolution of phlegm, dispersion of accumulations, and the harmonization of descending Qi and stomach function. This pairing is commonly used to support children’s respiratory comfort and healthy digestion, as well as to help maintain normal appetite.

Differentiation and selection of medicinals

1. Perilla frutescens (Zisu) and Zingiber officinale (Shengjiang): Both are acrid and warm, and enter the Lung Meridian (LU) and Spleen Meridian (SP). Both support the body’s ability to induce sweating and release the exterior to disperse Cold, and help maintain normal response to toxins from fish and crabs. When used together, they support the body in addressing occasional discomforts such as aversion to Cold, fever, headache, and nasal congestion associated with external Wind-Cold, as well as abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea that may occur after ingesting fish or crabs. However, Perilla frutescens (Zisu) externally helps release the exterior and disperse Cold, while internally helps move Qi and helps with occasional the Middle Jiao. It also gently supports the transformation of Phlegm and helps calm coughing. Therefore, it is more suitable for conditions such as Chest and Epigastric fullness, nausea, vomiting, or cough with copious Phlegm due to a Wind-Cold exterior pattern with Qi Stagnation. At the same time, Perilla (Zisu) also helps regulate Qi and supports a calm pregnancy. It may also be used to support cases of Spleen and Stomach Qi Stagnation with chest tightness and vomiting; rebellious Fetal Qi with chest tightness and vomiting; and occasional fetal restlessness due to Qi Stagnation. It is also used for the “Plum Pit Qi” pattern associated with emotional constraint and Phlegm-Qi Stagnation. Zingiber officinale (Shengjiang) is adept at warming the Middle Jiao and helping calm the stomach, and also helps warm the Lung and helps with occasional coughing. It supports the body in counteracting properties of Pinellia ternata (Banxia) and Arisaema erubescens (Tiannanxing). It is commonly used for Spleen and Stomach Cold patterns, including Cold affecting the Middle Jiao or Spleen and Stomach Deficiency Cold with epigastric Cold discomfort, poor appetite, and occasional nausea. Because it is a substance that helps maintain warmth in the Stomach, it is especially suitable for occasional nausea due to Stomach Cold. For Lung Cold cough, whether or not accompanied by external Wind-Cold, with either copious or scanty mucus, it can be considered. When using Banxia or Tiannanxing, or during their processing, Shengjiang is employed to help moderate their properties.

2. Scallion White (Congbai) and Fresh Ginger (Shengjiang)

Scallion White and Fresh Ginger are both common household ingredients. Each supports healthy perspiration to help the body expel external influences from wind-cold and can be used to support the body during wind-cold discomforts. However, Scallion White is particularly skilled at warming and unblocking the upper and lower yang qi, helping to disperse cold coagulation. It is often used in patterns where exuberant yin repels yang, such as with diarrhea and faint pulse, or abdominal cold pain. Additionally, it supports a healthy detoxifying effect and dispersal of nodules; externally applied, it can help with skin irritations such as boils, sores, and breast distension.

Fresh Ginger excels at warming the middle burner and helps calm occasional nausea, making it a “sacred herb for nausea” often used for various types of queasiness, especially those due to stomach cold. It also supports Lung warmth to helps with occasional coughing and helps neutralize the potential harsh effects of Pinellia ternata (Banxia) and Arisaema (Tiannanxing). It is commonly used for Spleen-stomach cold patterns, including cold invasion of the middle burner or Spleen-stomach deficiency cold with epigastric cold pain, poor appetite, or nausea; for Lung-cold cough (whether or not accompanied by external wind-cold, and regardless of phlegm amount); and to help reduce toxicity when preparing or taking Pinellia or Arisaema by using Fresh Ginger.

3. Dried Ginger (Ganjiang) and Fresh Ginger (Shengjiang): Both derive from the same plant and share the function of warming the middle and dispelling cold, supporting the body in addressing various cold-related middle wellness. The difference is that fresh ginger is the fresh rhizome of the current year, with a milder medicinal strength. It acts on both the exterior and interior. When acting on the exterior, it promotes sweating and releases the exterior to dispel cold, helping to support the body during mild wind-cold common cold. When acting on the interior, it warms the middle, stops vomiting, opens the stomach, warms the Lungs and stops coughing, helping with occasional stomach cold vomiting, poor digestion, and wind-cold cough. Dried ginger is the dried rhizome from previous years, commonly known as “old dried ginger.” Its medicinal strength is stronger, and it acts specifically on the interior. It excels at warming the middle and dispelling cold, restoring yang and unblocking the meridians, warming the Lungs and transforming phlegm fluids. It supports the body in conditions of yang deficiency with cold in the middle, such as abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea; yang depletion impending collapse; and phlegm-fluid cough and dyspnea. Additionally, it is traditionally believed that fresh ginger can also help neutralize the toxicity of fish, crab, raw Banxia (Pinellia ternata), and raw Nanxing (Arisaema erubescens).

Related Medicinal Products

Guizhi Heji (Cinnamon Twig Mixture), Daiwenjiu Gao (Warm Moxibustion Substitute Plaster), Linggui Kechuanning Jiaonang (Linggui Cough and Respiratory Support Capsule), Weiyangling Keli (Stomach Comfort Granules), Shengfading (Hair Growth Tincture).

Related Formulas

Guizhi Tang (Cinnamon Twig Decoction) (Shanghan Lun), Xiao Banxia Tang (Minor Pinellia Decoction) (Jingui Yaolue), Shengjiang Xiexin Tang (Fresh Ginger Decoction for Purging the Heart) (Shanghan Lun), Erchen Tang (Two Aged Herbs Decoction) (Heji Jufang), San’ao Tang (Three Crude Drugs Decoction) (Heji Jufang).

Medicinal Dietary Therapy (Yaoshan Shiliao)

Medicinal foods related to ginger include Zisu Shengjiang Hongzao Tang (Perilla-Ginger-Red Date Soup).

1. Functions: helps maintain stomach warmth and comfort, supports digestion, and promotes the smooth flow of qi. It is a beneficial stomach-warming dietary tonic.

2. Ingredients: 10g fresh Perilla frutescens (Zisuye) leaves, 3 pieces fresh Zingiber officinale (Shengjiang) ginger, 15g Ziziphus jujuba (Hongzao).

3. Instructions: First, wash the red dates in clean water. Then remove the pits, slice the ginger, and shred the fresh perilla leaves. Place the perilla leaves, ginger slices, and red dates together in an earthenware pot with warm water. Cook over high heat until boiling, then reduce to low heat and simmer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the perilla leaves, red dates, and ginger slices. Then pick out the red dates and return them to the pot. Continue simmering over low heat for another 15 minutes. Done.

4. Usage: Take after dinner.

Notes

For patients requiring herbal medicine supports, they should first visit a regular Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) hospital. After professional TCM pattern differentiation, a herbal prescription is given.

Processing and Preparation (Paozhi)

Harvesting and Processing

Harvested in autumn and winter, remove fibrous roots and sediment, slice, and use in raw form.

Processing Methods

1. Zingiber officinale (Shengjiang): Take fresh ginger, remove impurities. Wash, and slice when using.

2. Roasted Ginger (Wei Jiang): Take fresh ginger (Zingiber officinale, Shengjiang) pieces and roast them on a smokeless fire until half-cooked. Alternatively, wrap the ginger in several layers of straw paper, wet the paper, then place on a stove top or in hot ashes until the paper turns scorched yellow and the ginger is half-cooked. Remove, discard the paper, and slice thinly. After roasting, its function to support the body’s defenses against external factors is reduced. It is mainly used to support digestive warmth and comfort, help maintain occasional digestive balance, and promote normal bowel function.

Storage Method

Store fresh ginger in a cool, damp place, or bury it in moist sand. Store roasted ginger in a container in a well-ventilated, dry place.

Identification of Medicinal Materials

Medicinal Material Characteristics

The rhizome is irregular in shape, somewhat flattened, with finger-like branches, measuring 4–18 cm in length and 1–3 cm in thickness. The surface is yellowish-brown or grayish-brown, with nodes; the tips of the branches show stem scars or buds. It is brittle and easily broken; the fracture surface is light yellow, with a distinct endodermal ring and scattered vascular bundles. It has a characteristic aromatic odor and a pungent taste.

Description of Prepared Herbal Slices

This product appears as irregular lumps or thick slices, slightly flattened, 1-3 cm in thickness. The outer surface is yellowish-brown or grayish-brown with annular nodes, and some pieces show stem scars or buds. It is brittle in texture, with a light yellow cross-section, distinct endodermal ring lines, and scattered vascular bundles. It has a characteristic aromatic odor and a pungent taste.

Botanical Information

plant genus and species

Zingiber officinale (Ginger), a plant of the Zingiberaceae family and Zingiber genus.

Morphological Features

Perennial herb, 50-80 cm tall. Rhizome thick, cross-section yellowish-white, with a strong pungent odor. Leaves alternate, arranged in two rows, sessile, nearly clasping the stem; ligule 2-4 mm long; leaf blade lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 15-30 cm long, 1.5-2.2 cm wide, apex acuminate, base narrow, leaf base sheath-like and clasping the stem, glabrous. Inflorescence scape emerging from the rhizome, 15-25 cm long; spike elliptic, 4-5 cm long; bracts ovate, about 2.5 cm long, pale green, margin pale yellow, apex with a small tip; calyx tube about 1 cm long, with 3 short acute teeth; corolla yellow-green, tube 2-2.5 cm long, lobes 3, lanceolate, less than 2 cm long; labellum middle lobe oblong-obovate, shorter than corolla lobes, with purple stripes and pale yellow spots, lateral lobes ovate, yellow-green with purple margins; stamen 1, dark purple, anther about 9 mm long, connective appendage enveloping the style; ovary 3-loculed, glabrous, style 1, stigma nearly spherical. Capsule. Seeds numerous, black. Flowering in August.

Distribution area

It is cultivated in provinces from central, southeastern to southwestern China.

Authentic producing region (Daodi region)

Mainly produced in Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Guangdong, and Guangxi.

Growth and Development Clinical Internship

It prefers a warm and humid climate, is not cold-tolerant, dislikes dampness, and fears direct strong sunlight. Continuous cropping is contraindicated. It is suitable for cultivation on slopes and slightly shaded plots. Deep, loose, fertile, well-drained sandy loam to heavy loam soils are optimal.

Propagation Method

Propagate using rhizomes (seed ginger).

Cultivation Techniques

Hole planting or trench planting. When harvesting fresh ginger in autumn, select rhizomes that are plump, pale yellow in color, glossy, and free from wellness or insect damage to serve as seed ginger. Store the seed ginger in a cellar or layer it with fine sand indoors for later use. In southern regions from January to April, and in northern regions in May, remove the seed ginger, keep it warm to promote germination, then cut it into small pieces, each retaining 1–2 strong buds. For hole planting, dig holes at a row spacing of 40 cm and a plant spacing of 30 cm, with a depth of 13–17 cm. First, pour liquid manure into the holes; after it soaks into the soil, place one piece of seed ginger flat in each hole, and finally cover with fine compost. For trench planting, dig trenches at a row spacing of 40 cm, apply base fertilizer, and plant the seed ginger at a plant spacing of 27 cm. Cover with soil level to the ground surface. In the Sichuan production area, great attention is paid to planting depth: deep planting (digging holes about 30 cm) with continuous earthing up yields Lai ginger, which is the source of Shengjiang (fresh ginger); shallow planting (digging holes 5–10 cm) yields medicinal ginger, which is the source of Ganjiang (dried ginger).

Bing Chong Fangzhi (Pest and wellness helps maintain and Control)

1. The wellness includes rot wellness, commonly known as ginger plague, which is prone to occur during high-temperature and rainy seasons. Soak seeds in Bordeaux mixture for 10 minutes. When the wellness appears, remove the infected plants and disinfect the diseased holes with lime.

2. Pests include the Asian corn borer, which damages ginger stems from August to September. Use a 1000 times dilution of 90% trichlorfon to irrigate the Heart leaves. The ginger butterfly damages leaves as larvae. Use a 1500 times dilution of 80% dichlorvos to spray and kill.