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GINGER: ANALYSIS OF THE RAW RHIZOME, ESSENTIAL OIL AND ALCOHOL EXTRACT OF TWO VARIETIES GROWN IN ECUADOR

Abstract:

Ginger is one of the most used species in traditional and ancestral medicine in different countries. Ginger contains chemical constituents such as gingerol and shogaol, both with scientifically proven pharmacological and nutritive actions. In addition to its essential oil, pharmacological properties are also reported and employed in the cosmetic and food industries. In Ecuador, two species are known as sweet ginger, and spicy ginger; both are marketed indistinctly, but no studies have been conducted on them. Therefore, the main objective of this work is to establish some physicochemical characteristics of the species commercialized in Ecuador, as well as to extract and characterize their essential oils and alcoholic extracts. The results indicated that the physicochemical parameters of the plant rhizomes presented differences, so it is a variety or another species, which would have to be demonstrated by genetic studies. The essential oils of both species showed a different chemical composition, allowing us to identify 62 compounds for sweet ginger and 92 for spicy ginger. The alcoholic extracts also showed differences in the physicochemical parameters and the qualitative chemical composition.