Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Aug;63(2):211-23.
doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2012.03.016. Epub 2012 Mar 23.

6-Shogaol, a ginger product, modulates neuroinflammation: a new approach to neuroprotection

Sang Keun Ha  1 , Eunjung Moon, Mi Sun Ju, Dong Hyun Kim, Jong Hoon Ryu, Myung Sook Oh, Sun Yeou Kim
Affiliations

6-Shogaol, a ginger product, modulates neuroinflammation: a new approach to neuroprotection

Sang Keun Ha et al. Neuropharmacology. 2012 Aug.

Abstract

Inflammatory processes in the central nervous system play an important role in a number of neurodegenerative diseases mediated by microglial activation, which results in neuronal cell death. Microglia act in immune surveillance and host defense while resting. When activated, they can be deleterious to neurons, even resulting in neurodegeneration. Therefore, the inhibition of microglial activation is considered a useful strategy in searching for neuroprotective agents. In this study, we investigated the effects of 6-shogaol, a pungent agent from Zingiber officinale Roscoe, on microglia activation in BV-2 and primary microglial cell cultures. 6-Shogaol significantly inhibited the release of nitric oxide (NO) and the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The effect was better than that of 6-gingerol, wogonin, or N-monomethyl-l-arginine, agents previously reported to inhibit nitric oxide. 6-Shogaol exerted its anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the production of prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) and proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and by downregulating cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) expression. In addition, 6-shogaol suppressed the microglial activation induced by LPS both in primary cortical neuron-glia culture and in an in vivo neuroinflammatory model. Moreover, 6-shogaol showed significant neuroprotective effects in vivo in transient global ischemia via the inhibition of microglia. These results suggest that 6-shogaol is an effective therapeutic agent for treating neurodegenerative diseases.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms