Increased growth inhibitory effects on human cancer cells and anti-inflammatory potency of shogaols from Zingiber officinale relative to gingerols

Ginger, the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, has received extensive attention because of its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antitumor activities. Most researchers have considered gingerols as the active principles and have paid little attention to shogaols, the dehydration products of corresponding gingerols during storage or thermal processing. In this study, we have purified and identified eight major componente, including three major gingerols and corresponding shogaols, from ginger extract and compared their anticarcinogenic and anti-inflammatory activities. Our results showed that shogaols ([6], [8], and [10]) had much stronger growth inhibitory effects than gingerols ([6], [8], and [10]) on H-1299 human lung cancer cells and HCT-116 human colon cancer cells, especially when comparing [6]-shogaol with [6]-gingerol (IC₅₀ of ̃8 versus ̃150 μM). In addition, we found that [6]-shogaol had much stronger inhibitory effects on arachidonic acid release and nitric oxide (NO) synthesis than [6]-gingerol.