The application of ginger supplementation on peptic ulcer disease management: A randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial

Summary: Background: Although the beneficial role of ginger consumption on peptic ulcer disease (PUD) has been shown in experimental studies, there is no clinical trial on patients with PUD. Methods: The current study was performed as a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trial on patients with PUD. Patients were randomized to take either ginger (2000mg/day) or placebo as a supplement after the standard treatment for 6 weeks. At the beginning and the week 8, all participants underwent endoscopic exam, and gastric ulcers were evaluated and biopsied for pathologic assessment. Serum high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), IL-8, and total anti-oxidant capacity (TAC) were measured at the baseline, and the end of the study. Results: There was no significant difference in the number of ulcers at baseline and ending point of the study in the control group (P-value=0.772). Meanwhile, the number of ulcers were significantly lower in the intervention group after 6 weeks of ginger supplementation compared to the baseline (P-value=0.01). Moreover, higher reduction in mean dyspepsia scores was found in the intervention group compared to the control group (P=0.04). As another finding, the mean TAC increase in the intervention group (1.12±0.44 U/ml) was significantly higher than the control group (0.09±0.16 U/ml) (P<0.001). Finally, the mean reduction in hs-CRP and IL-8 levels in the intervention group were significantly higher than the control group (P<0.001). Conclusion: In conclusion, our results have shown that supplementation with two grams of ginger increases the efficacy of the standard treatment in patients with PUD in reduction of ulcers, H. pylori presence, SHH grade, and dyspepsia, which might be at least partially through its anti-oxidative, and anti-inflammatory properties.