Ginger can be effective against COVID 19: experts

KARACHI: According to scientists at an international meeting, ginger could be an effective supplementary therapy for COVID 19. 

The antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, and antidiabetic properties, among others, of ginger have been demonstrated in several pieces of research.

In their plenary presentations on the third day of the "15th International Symposium on Natural Product Chemistry (ISNPC-15)" at the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), the University of Karachi, national and international scientists voiced their perspectives.

 Dr Rafat A Siddiqui, a scientist from the US, said that the role of nutrients in immune modulation was well known. There are numerous health benefits to using ginger as a spice around the world, and it has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties that can help reduce inflammation, cytokine storms and viral replication during COVID19 infection, he said, adding that current scientific evidence suggests that ginger can be an effective herbal natural product to reduce inflammation, cytokine storms and viral replication.

According to him, the increased polyphenolic content and decisive anti-oxidation action of baby ginger make it an excellent preventative against respiratory virus illness.

 Dr Masood Parvez, a Canadian scholar, accentuated the function of hydrogen bonding in natural products and expressed that hydrogen bonding played a unique role in natural products chemistry. 

Dr Ute Romling, a Swedish female scientist, discussed her research into how bacteria create infection and antibiotic resistance.

There were numerous concurrent session talks on the third day of the scientific session. During the discussions, both domestic and international experts emphasised the significance of natural products.