Ginger nanoparticles found useful in treatment of inflammatory bowel disease

Emobileclinic Researchers Corner 
The Journal of Biomaterials has published the work of researchers from the Atlanta Veterans Association who used high tech sophisticated centrifuging to obtain gingerderived nanoparticles (GDNPs) which is believed to offer specific and promising treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

 

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of disorders where the intestines become swollen. It is potentially harmful condition whose real cause of IBD remains unknown; however, scientists are of the view that it could be an autoimmune condition where the body’s immune system unknowingly fights itself. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the prominent forms of IBD and its common symptoms diarrhea, severe pain, and rectal bleeding as well as anemia.
This has prompted researchers to focus on nanotechnology as a way of providing drugs aimed at the digestive system. Nanotechnology is efficient in delivering low doses of drugs to specific areas and thereby preventing unwanted effects on the rest of the body.
It is against this background that scientists examine the role of ginger in the management of inflammatory bowel disease. The therapeutic effects of ginger have been used for years as a treatment tool for a range of health issues such as colds, nausea, arthritis, migraines and hypertension. It is used in a fresh, dried, pickled, preserved, crystallized, candied, and powdered or ground form, in sweets and savory foods, and as a drink. Ginger tea also aids digestion.
The study was led by Dr. Didier Merlin. They collected fresh ginger roots from local farmers and blended it into juice and then used a super-high-speed centrifuge to achieve ultrasonic dispersion of the ginger juice and create pellets. Each nanoparticle was about 230 nanometers in diameter, and over 300 of them could fit across the width of a human hair.
When administered on the mouse, it was revealed that the particles can reduce acute colitis and prevent chronic colitis and colitis-associated cancer. The particles also help in intestinal repair by encouraging the survival and proliferation of cells in the lining of the colon. They also appear to lower the production of proteins that promote inflammation and to raise the levels of proteins that fight inflammation and the particles efficiently targets the colon, as they are absorbed mainly by cells in the lining of the intestines, where IBD occurs.
The authors opine that the high levels of lipids, or fatty molecules, in the particles are crucial in their therapeutic effect. The ginger plant contains natural lipids, including phosphatidic acid that are significant in building cell membranes.

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Source
Adapted from MNT Media News Release



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