Anti-Arthritic Effects of Ginger Dietary Supplements

描述(申请人提供)：生姜在阿育吠陀和传统中医中用于治疗炎症已有数百年的历史。在美国，自从COX-2抑制剂从市场上移除以来，用于治疗关节炎的生姜膳食补充剂受到了越来越多的关注。然而，关于生姜或其成分可能的抗关节炎作用的科学数据非常少，而且由于测试材料没有得到充分的描述，对现有数据的解释很困难。因此，目前还没有资料支持使用生姜膳食补充剂来预防或治疗关节炎。我们提议的研究将填补这一空白，利用J·芬克博士和B·蒂默曼博士之间的持续成功合作。J·芬克博士是使用动物模型研究炎症的专家，B·蒂默曼博士是天然产品化学家。基于我们的初步数据显示了两种具有良好特性的生姜提取物具有显著的抗关节炎作用，本项目的具体目标是(1)分离并对生姜粗提物进行化学和生物学特性鉴定，然后使用类风湿性关节炎(一种特别严重的炎性关节炎)的动物模型进行体内试验，以确定(2)作为膳食补充剂服用生姜粗提物的抗关节炎功效，以及(3)其潜在毒性和(4)联合保护作用的机制。 公共卫生相关性：从这些翻译研究中获得的信息将形成一个证据基础，以指导公众合理使用和选择生姜膳食补充剂来治疗类风湿性关节炎的关节炎症，并帮助设计未来适当的临床试验。此外，生姜具有骨保护作用的机制证据也可能支持其用于预防其他流行的骨骼疾病的研究，如骨质疏松症。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Ginger has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine to treat inflammation. In the United States, ginger dietary supplement use for arthritis treatment has received increased attention since the removal of COX-2 inhibitors from the market. However, very little scientific data is available regarding possible anti- arthritic effects of ginger or its components and interpretation of existing data is difficult because test materials were not adequately described. Therefore, no information is currently available to support the use of ginger dietary supplements for arthritis prevention or treatment. Our proposed studies will fill this void, taking advantage of an on-going successful collaboration between Dr. J Funk, an expert in the use of animal models for the study of inflammation, and Dr. B Timmermann, an expert natural products chemist. Based on our preliminary data demonstrating an profound anti-arthritic effect of two well characterized ginger extracts, the specific aims of this project are to (1) isolate and chemically and biologically characterize a crude ginger extract which will then be tested in vivo using an animal model of rheumatoid arthritis, a particularly severe form of inflammatory arthritis, to determine (2) the anti-arthritic efficacy of the crude ginger extract when administered orally as a dietary supplement, as well as (3) its potential toxicity and (4) mechanisms of joint-protective action. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Information obtained from these translational studies will form an evidence base to guide the public's rational use and choice of ginger dietary supplements for the treatment of joint inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis and aid in the design of future appropriate clinical trials. Moreover, mechanistic evidence of bone protective effects of ginger may also support the study of its use for the prevention of other prevalent bone diseases, such as osteoporosis.