Pilot clinical study of the effects of ginger root extract on eicosanoids in colonic mucosa of subjects at increased risk for colorectal cancer

Pilot clinical study in adults at increased risk for colorectal cancer, including people with a family history, prior adenomatous polyp, or prior early-stage colon cancer. Ten participants were randomized to the ginger arm in a 1:1 allocation scheme and were studied in the United States at the University of Michigan Clinical Research Unit.

The active regimen was oral ginger root extract, 2.0 g/day as powdered Z. officinale standardized to 15 mg (5%) total gingerols, given in capsules for 28 days. The comparison group received lactose placebo capsules.

Ginger 2.0 g/day for 28 days did not meaningfully lower colonic mucosal eicosanoids overall. In the ginger arm, protein-normalized PGE2 did not differ significantly from placebo (p=0.26), while LTB4 increased relative to placebo (p=0.04); other measured eicosanoids showed no clear change, including 5-HETE (p=0.16), 12-HETE (p=0.60), and 15-HETE (p=0.16). The authors concluded that ginger was safe and tolerable but did not reduce mucosal eicosanoid levels in this pilot study.

Very small pilot study with only 10 participants in the active arm and a short 28-day intervention period. Outcomes were limited to mucosal eicosanoid biomarkers, so clinical chemopreventive benefit was not established, and generalizability is limited.