Department of Renal Care, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2013 Jan 9;145(1):146-51. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2012.10.043. Epub 2012 Nov 1.
Ginger, Zingiber officinale Roscoe, is a common spice and also a widely used medicinal plant in ancient China. Ginger is an ingredient of Ge-Gen-Tang (Kakkon-to; GGT). GGT has been proved to have antiviral activity against human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV). However, it is unknown whether ginger is effective against HRSV.
To find a readily available agent to manage HRSV infection, the authors tested the hypothesis that ginger can effectively decrease HRSV-induced plaque formation in respiratory mucosal cell lines.
Effect of hot water extracts of fresh and dried gingers on HRSV was tested by plaque reduction assay in both human upper (HEp-2) and low (A549) respiratory tract cell lines. Ability of ginger to stimulate anti-viral cytokines was evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
Fresh ginger dose-dependently inhibited HRSV-induced plaque formation in both HEp-2 and A549 cell lines (p<0.0001). In contrast, dried ginger didn't show any dose-dependent inhibition. 300 μg/ml fresh ginger could decrease the plaque counts to 19.7% (A549) and 27.0% (HEp-2) of that of the control group. Fresh ginger was more effective when given before viral inoculation (p<0.0001), particularly on A549 cells. 300 μg/ml fresh ginger could decrease the plaque formation to 12.9% when given before viral inoculation. Fresh ginger dose-dependently inhibited viral attachment (p<0.0001) and internalization (p<0.0001). Fresh ginger of high concentration could stimulate mucosal cells to secrete IFN-β that possibly contributed to counteracting viral infection.
Fresh, but not dried, ginger is effective against HRSV-induced plaque formation on airway epithelium by blocking viral attachment and internalization.
生姜，姜属植物，是一种常见的香料，也是中国古代广泛使用的药用植物。生姜是葛根汤（Kakkon-to；GGT）的一种成分。已证实 GGT 具有抗人类呼吸道合胞病毒（HRSV）的抗病毒活性。然而，目前尚不清楚生姜是否对 HRSV 有效。
为了寻找一种易于获得的药物来治疗 HRSV 感染，作者通过在人上呼吸道（HEp-2）和下呼吸道（A549）细胞系中进行蚀斑减少测定，检验了生姜能有效减少呼吸道黏膜细胞系中 HRSV 诱导的蚀斑形成的假设。
通过蚀斑减少测定法，在人上呼吸道（HEp-2）和下呼吸道（A549）细胞系中检测新鲜和干生姜的热水提取物对 HRSV 的作用。通过酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）评估生姜刺激抗病毒细胞因子的能力。
新鲜生姜剂量依赖性地抑制了 HEp-2 和 A549 细胞系中 HRSV 诱导的蚀斑形成（p<0.0001）。相比之下，干姜没有显示出任何剂量依赖性的抑制作用。300μg/ml 的新鲜生姜可使蚀斑数减少至对照组的 19.7%（A549）和 27.0%（HEp-2）。在病毒接种前给予新鲜生姜更为有效（p<0.0001），特别是在 A549 细胞上。在病毒接种前给予 300μg/ml 的新鲜生姜可使蚀斑形成减少至 12.9%。新鲜生姜剂量依赖性地抑制病毒附着（p<0.0001）和内化（p<0.0001）。高浓度的新鲜生姜能刺激黏膜细胞分泌 IFN-β，这可能有助于对抗病毒感染。
新鲜生姜，而非干姜，可通过阻断病毒附着和内化来抑制呼吸道上皮细胞中 HRSV 诱导的蚀斑形成。
