Ginger is one of the healthiest spices on the planet

KARACHI: Experts at the international symposium have said the scientific studies show that ‘ginger’ is one of the healthiest spices on the planet, as it owns powerful medicinal properties, including anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidation, and anti-cancer benefits.

"Pakistan has the second-largest burden of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) in the world, with an estimated number of eight to ten million cases of chronically infected persons with HCV. Every year, Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) causes 600,000 deaths worldwide, while 350,000 deaths are associated with HCV infection. Chronic pain is associated with depression.”

National and foreign scientists expressed these views recently while delivering their lectures in the 7th International Symposium-Cum-Training Course on Molecular Medicine and Drug Research being held at the Dr Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD), University of Karachi (UoK).

Over 700 scientists, including 100 scientists from 35 countries, including Turkey, Iran, Iraq, China, Egypt, Syria, Italy, Nigeria, Greece, USA, UK, Germany, France, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Sweden, New Zealand, Hungry, Indonesia,  Jordan, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Sudan, Thailand, Oman, Cameron, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and more, are attending this international event.

On the second day of the global event, Prof Dr Rafat A Siddiqui of USA, while delivering his lecture on the health benefits of ginger, said that ginger was one of the most widely used medicinal plants that was commonly used as a spice. In traditional medicine, ginger is used to aid various ailments, including vomiting, indigestion, muscular and joint pain, and cold symptoms, he added.

Talking about the production of ginger, Prof Siddiqui said that the Netherlands is the top exporter of ginger in the world. Pakistan is the top importer of ginger, although it is an agricultural country, he added.

He mentioned that the ginger root also possessed lipid and glucose-lowering activities.

It also owns strong antiviral activity, he said. Additionally, ginger reduces symptoms of nausea and travel sickness. Ginger gum is available in the market to reduce travel sickness, he said. He pointed out that baby ginger possesses antioxidant properties.

The German scientist Prof Dr Bertram Flehmig, in his lecture on HAV infections and global health problems, said that jaundice was one of the widest spread disease conditions in the world.

He said that Baruch Blumberg, in 1963, identified the HBV surface antigen. He received the Nobel Prize in 1973. The Hepatitis D virus was identified in 1977, he added.

Hepatitis refers to the destruction of hepatocytes of the liver, while yellow skin and eyes and dark urine are the prominent features of the infection, he said.

As many as 1.4 million people are affected by HAV worldwide, and it causes around 10,000 to 30,000 deaths each year, he said.

However, HAV and HEV cases and deaths per year are not described in Pakistan, while its prevalence is 70-80% in people who are under 14 years of age, he said.

Prof Dr Darakhshan Jabeen Haleem of the Dr Panjwani Center, in her lecture on chronic pain and depression, said that there was a connection between chronic pain and depression. The association of chronic pain and depression is becoming increasingly recognized, she said and pointed out that treating both the conditions together was essential for an effective treatment outcome. It is important to identify a shared mechanism involved in the association of chronic pain with depression, she asserted.

On occasion, many national and foreign scientists, including British scholar, Dr Mark C Field, Italian scientist, Luciana Dini, Australian scientist, Barry N Noller, and Brazilian scholar, Dr Bartira Rossi Bergmann, delivered their talks on different scientific issues. A poster completion was also held at the end of the second day of the symposium.