The Analgesic Effect of Ginger on Postoperative Pain: A Systematic Review of Clinical Trials

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: Pain is a common problem that can negatively affect patients' daily life and impair the quality of life of patients. This systematic review evaluates ginger's analgesic effects and underlying mechanisms in postoperative pain. Methods: An extensive search was undertaken in various databases, including Cochrane Library, Pub- Med, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus. After considering the study's inclusion and exclusion criteria, 12 records were retrieved. The raw data were extracted and entered into an Excel form, and the study outcomes were analyzed. A PRISMA 2020 flow diagram illustrates the direct search approach used for this systematic review. Results: The reviewed studies mainly examined ginger's analgesic effects and other chemical analgesics, such as ibuprofen. Ginger and its bioactive compounds, such as gingerols and shogaols, can reduce postoperative pain by relieving nociceptive, mechanical, and neuropathic pain inflammatory pain by activating the various descendent inhibitory pathways of pain. Ginger induces its postoperative analgesic effects by involving and changing thinly myelinated A-delta, unmyelinated C-fibers, and myelinated A-beta-fibers, Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1), and inhibiting inflammatory process and oxidant activities. Conclusion: Ginger is emerging as promising analgesic effects through various nociceptive pathways on postoperative pain in patients. Additional rigorous clinical trials are warranted to investigate these results further.