What Is Sheng Jiang
Sheng Jiang commonly known as Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens or Fresh Ginger is the fresh rhizome of Zingiber officinale, which is a perennial herb belonging to the family Zingiberaceae. It is a relatively practical and common Chinese herbal medicine and dietary supplement, which first appeared in <Mingyi Bie Lu> around 420-589 AD.
There are about 198 species of ginger, which are mainly distributed in tropical and subtropical Asia. Among them, some species are famous ornamental flowers, and the rhizomes of some species can be used as seasoning and medicine.
Zingiber officinale is also called Ginger. This plant likes a warm and humid climate and is not cold-tolerant, afraid of humidity, and afraid of direct sunlight. They are suitable to be planted on slopes and shady plots. They are native to tropical regions of Southeast Asia and are widely cultivated in tropical regions of Asia.
They are commonly used seasonings in East Asian recipes. The Chinese believe that “eat Chinese radish in winter and eat ginger in summer” will be a benefit for the health. As an economic plant, they are also widely used in food, drinks, cosmetics, and other fields.
In autumn and winter, people gather the rhizomes of Zingiber officinale, wash them with water, remove their fibrous roots and sand, cut them into slices, use them directly, or dry them at low temperature, and make them into Gan Jiang (Dried Ginger).
Sheng Jiang contains zingiberene, α-citral, α-curcumene, β-phellandrene, amphene, cajeputol, borneol, nerol, pinene, camphene, terpinol, shogaol, 6-paradol, zingerone, 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol, 10-gingerol, 12-gingerol, diarylheptanoids, polysaccharides, flavonoids, amino acids, proteases, and some trace elements.
Generally, the easily broken Sheng Jiang with a light yellow cross-section and obvious ring pattern, and the special fragrance is preferred.
According to <Mingyi Bie Lu>, the medicinal nature of Sheng Jiang is slightly warm, with a pungent taste. It has a certain therapeutic effect on pathological changes of lung, spleen, and stomach meridians.
In traditional Chinese medicine, it is often used to relieve exterior symptoms and dispel cold, warm middle energizer to stop vomiting, warm lung and relieve cough, and treat wind-cold, children with autumn diarrhea, children with enuresis, biliary ascariasis, acute bacillary dysentery, facial paralysis, toothache, arthritis, seborrheic dermatitis, vitiligo, postoperative urine retention, traumatic abdominal distension, fatty liver, obesity, shoulder-hand syndrome, stroke, and water and fire burns.
There are about 200 kinds of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions containing it, such as Gui Zhi Tang, Xiao Ban Xia Tang, and Bu Zhong Yi Qi Wan.
Benefits
- Anti-inflammation, inhibiting xylene-induced mouse ear swelling and egg white-induced rat foot swelling.
- Increasing the pain threshold and reducing the number of writhing mice caused by acetic acid.
- Anti-oxidation, enhancing the activity of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase, and reducing the content of malondialdehyde.
- Inhibiting platelet aggregation caused by adenosine diphosphate.
- Promoting saliva secretion, enhancing digestive enzyme activity, and promoting digestion.
- Antagonizing cisplatin-induced gastric emptying in mice.
- Promoting sweating and treating slight symptoms caused by wind-cold.
- Warming spleen and stomach for dispelling cold, treating cold pain in the epigastric area, lack of appetite, and vomiting caused by deficiency-cold in spleen and stomach or deficiency-cold in middle energizer.
- Treating vomiting caused by stomach cold, stomach heat, or phlegm and fluid retention.
- Warming the lung and dispelling cold, treating excessive phlegm, cough, aversion to cold, and headache caused by retention of pathogenic cold in the lung.
- Relieving vomiting and diarrhea caused by eating fish, crabs, Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome), or Tian Nan Xing (Rhizoma Arisaematis).
- Its alcohol extract can inhibit the growth of H22 solid tumors and Ehrlich ascites carcinoma in mice.
- Inhibiting Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Candida albicans, Typhoid bacillus, Vibrio cholerae, brewer’s yeast, and Penicillium.
- Studies have found that it can improve plasma lipid metabolism, enhance liver lipase and lipoprotein lipase activity, improve liver lipid metabolism, and reduce liver lipid deposition.
Combinations
- It can be used in combination with brown sugar and Cong Bai (Scallion), etc. to treat mild symptoms caused by wind-cold.
- It can be used in combination with Gao Liang Jiang (Rhizoma Alpiniae Officinarum), Hu Jiao (Fructus Piperis), etc. to treat cold pain in the epigastric area, lack of appetite, and vomiting caused by deficiency-cold in the spleen and stomach.
- It can be used in combination with Ren Shen (Radix et Rhizoma Ginseng), Bai Zhu (Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae), Fu Ling (Poria), Gan Cao (Licorice Root), etc. to treat sallow complexion, faint low voice, shortness of breath, fatigue, poor appetite, loose stools, pale tongue with white coating caused by qi deficiency of spleen and stomach.
- It can be used in combination with Huang Lian (Rhizoma Coptidis), Zhu Ru (Bamboo Shavings), Pi Pa Ye (Folium Eriobotryae), etc. to treat vomiting caused by stomach heat.
- It can be used in combination with Ma Huang (Ephedra), Xing Ren (Semen Armeniacae), etc. to treat excessive phlegm, cough, aversion to cold, and headache caused by retention of pathogenic cold in the lung.
Side Effects
- At present, there is no literature report that Sheng Jiang has toxic effects, and no data is showing that taking it at the prescribed dose can cause serious adverse reactions.
- Overdose of it may cause discomforts such as dry mouth and sore throat.
Precautions and Warnings
- The dosage of Sheng Jiang should be controlled at 3-10g.
- It can be made into decoctions, teas, or mashed for external use.
- People who are allergic to Sheng Jiang should not take it.
- It should not be used with drugs containing copper sulfate, norepinephrine, isoproterenol, or aminophylline.
- Patients with internal heat due to yin deficiency should not take it.
- People with syndromes of excess heat should not take it.
- Pregnant women and breastfeeding women should take it under the guidance of a doctor.