Androgenic effect of ginger

Is this something that's commonly known ?
Links found here: http://www.ergo-log....gingertest.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/12508133

Evaluation of androgenic activity of Zingiber officinale and Pentadiplandra brazzeana in male rats. Kamtchouing P, Mbongue Fandio GY, Dimo T, Jatsa HB. Laboratoire de Physiologie Animale, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Yaoundé I, Cameroun.

AIM: Aqueous extracts of Zingiber officinale and Pentadiplandra brazzeana were tested for their possible androgenic activity in male Wistar rats. METHODS: The aqueous extracts of the two plants were gavaged separately to 2 groups of rats at a similar dose of 600 mg middot kg(-1) middot day(-1) for 8 days. At the end of the treatment, the animals were killed and the blood, testis, epididymis, seminal vesicles and prostate were collected for biochemical analysis. RESULTS: The aqueous extract of Z. officinale significantly increased in the relative weight of the testis, the serum testosterone level, testicular cholesterol level and epididymal a-glucosidase activity. The aqueous extract of P. brazzeana significantly increased the weights of the testis, seminal vesicles and prostate. It also significantly increased the serum and testicular testosterone level. The fructose, alpha-glucosidase and cholesterol levels in P. brazzeana-treated rats were increased by 28 %, 35 % and 114 %, respectively. CONCLUSION: The aqueous extracts of both P. brazzeana and Z. officinale have an androgenic activity, which seems to be more potent with P. brazzeana than with Z. officinale.

http://www.bioline.o...rm09002&lang=en

The effects of Ginger on spermatogenesis and sperm parameters of rat
Khaki, Arash; Fathiazad, Fatemeh; Nouri,
Mohammad; Khaki, Amir Afshin; Ozanci, Chelar C; Ghafari-Novin, Marefat
& Hamadeh, Mohammad
Abstract

Background:
Ginger rhizome (Zingiber officinale R., family: Zingiberaceae) is
used medicinally and as a culinary spice.

Objective:
Medicinal use of ginger dates back to ancient China and India.
Ginger and its constituents are stated to have antiemetic,
antithrombotic, antihepatotoxic, anti-inflammatory, stimulant,
cholagogue and antioxidant. It has been used since ancient time as
medicinal and food origins it contain antioxidative and androgenic
activities and have well effect in diseases treatment in more countries
world-wide. As an antioxidant's ginger has a useful effect on
spermatogenesis and sperm parameters.

Materials and Methods:
Wistar male rat (n=30) were allocated into three groups, control
(n=10) and test groups (n=20), that subdivided into groups of 2 that
received ginger rhizome powder (50 and 100mg/kg/day) for 20 consequence
day. Animals were kept in standard conditions. In twentieth day the
testes tissue of Rats in whole groups were removed and sperm was
collected from epididymis and prepared for analysis. Results: Serum
total testosterones significantly increased in experimental group that
has received 100 mg/kg/day Ginger (p<0.05) in comparison to control
group. Besides, the percentage of sperm viability and motility in both
test groups significantly increased (p<0.05) in comparison to control
group, Whereas, LH, FSH hormones, sperm concentration, morphology and
testes weights in both experimental and control group were similar.

Conclusion:
Results revealed that administration of 100 mg/kg/day of ginger
significantly increased sperm percentage, viability, motility and serum
total testosterones. This suggested that ginger may be promising in
enhancing sperm healthy parameters.
Keywords
Ginger rhizome, Sperm,
Spermatogenesis, Rat, Testis, Testosterone

Edited by rwac, 18 October 2009 - 02:14 AM.

Interesting effect, at least in ratties.

Guess if someone tested low in testosterone, they could try ginger and retest, and see if it helped at all. I seem to recall a couple of people here at one time asking about testosterone boosters... probably safer to try ginger than some of the other things they were taking.

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ginger root is chemically similar to red peppers. they have a very similar impact biologically in humans/mammals.

there is an interesting post on JLL's blog about body hair growth triggered by red peppers. it elevates some testosterone (i think it was dihydrotestosterone?) hormones and this triggers hair growth.

there is a hormonal cascade involved with stress (ie. cortisol) which is adrogenic and triggers hair growth. if you were very thin, malnourished and shivering/cold consistent, these cortisol/stress hormones would be upregulated and your body would grow hair as a defense mechanism (to warm and protect itself). i'm making a bit of a leap here, but very likely the same stress pathway underlies the body's response to ginger root/red pepper.

Edited by prophets, 18 October 2009 - 07:55 PM.

The capsaicin in red peppers increases IGF-1; not sure about testosterone and DHT.

The capsaicin in red peppers increases IGF-1; not sure about testosterone and DHT.

At what intakes? In vitro or in vivo? I hope it doesn't at normal/high dietary intakes, I like that stuff and want to continue to eat it...

Edited by kismet, 18 October 2009 - 09:23 PM.

thanks for correcting me JLL. What I wrote was wrong, my memory is slipping.

I know red peppers and ginger root and biologically very close, if not identical in terms of their impact. That I'm confident in. These products actually blunt dihydrotestosterone from furthering prostate cancer. (link: http://cancerres.aac...full/66/6/3222)


The cascade I described in terms of adrenal/stress response is accurate. It's been shown in rats that are placed into cold water and that's how hair growth is stimulated hormonally. I can't remember the paper where I read how peppers are involved in this process. Perhaps just give JLL's blog a glance and he describes it there. It may not be through the same pathway as the adrenal stress response.

The capsaicin in red peppers increases IGF-1; not sure about testosterone and DHT.

At what intakes? In vitro or in vivo? I hope it doesn't at normal/high dietary intakes, I like that stuff and want to continue to eat it...

In vivo. Here's the post: Capsaicin and soy isoflavones promote hair growth

The participants were randomly divided into two groups: the first one received 6 mg capsaicin and 75 mg isoflavone daily, and the second received placebo only.

The authors suggest that increased CGRP, or calcitonin-gene related peptide, production leads to increased IGF-1, which in turn leads to hair growth.

Given that a tablespoon of ground spice weighs about 8 grams, one tablespoon of ground chili pepper would contain anywhere between 16 mg and 1,040 mg of capsaicin. A teaspoon of dried chili, cayenne or red pepper per day would probably have more than enough capsaicin.

I've been eating candied ginger.
It's pretty addictive, so I don't really know how much I've really been eating everyday.

I can definitely feel the increased libido.

I've been eating candied ginger.
It's pretty addictive, so I don't really know how much I've really been eating everyday.

I can definitely feel the increased libido.

I bought some candied ginger from Now foods. This stuff tastes amazing and I'm totally addicted. I also noticed the increased libido. I like it a lot. I was trying to figure out what was doing it, then I remembered this post. I'm going to get me a box of this stuff.

Thanks for posting this

Edited by Lufega, 21 December 2009 - 03:10 PM.

Wanted to add this study I found:

Neuroprotective evaluation of extract of ginger (Zingiber officinale) root in monosodium glutamate-induced toxicity in different brain areas male albino rats.

Waggas AM.

Department of Zoology, Faculty of Girls Education, Scientific Departments, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

In this study, the neuroprotective effect of the extract of ginger (Zingiber officinale) was investigated against MSG-induced neurotoxicity of male albino rat. The daily dose (4 mg kg(-1) b.wt.) i.p. injection of pure monosodium glutamate (MSG) for 30 days and subsequent withdrawal caused a significant decrease in epinephrine (E), norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) content all tested areas (cerebellum, brainstem, striatum, cerebral cortex, hypothalamus and hippocampus) at most of the time intervals studied. This is may be due to activation of glutamate receptors, which led to increased the intracellular concentration of Ca(+2) ions, so the release of neurotransmitters is increased and the content of monoamines is decreased. After the withdrawal, the decrease in monoamines levels remained in striatum, cerebral cortex and hypothalamus, this may be due to the region specific effect of monosodium glutamate whereas, daily dose (100 mg kg(-1) b.wt.) i.p., injection of Ginger (Zingiber officinale) root extract for 30 days and subsequent withdrawal caused a significant increased in epinephrine (E), norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) content all tested areas at most of the time intervals studied. This is may be due to inhibition of 5HT-3-receptor effects at the same time the extract blockade of Ca(+2) channel, as result the release of neurotransmitter is decreased and the content is increased. After the extract withdrawal, the increase in monoamine levels remained in brainstem, striatum and hippocampus, this may be due to the region specific effect of the extract. The coadminisration of monosodium glutamate and ginger root extract caused increased in monoamine content in most of the tested brain areas at different time intervals. This is may be due to partly attributable to an antagonistic action of ginger root extracts on monosodium glutamate effect, so the monoamines content was increased. From these results, we can say that the ginger extract has a neuroprotective role against monosodium glutamate toxicity effect.

So eat all the MSG laden chinese food you can find, just add a little ginger! lol

Question for ginger people: have you noticed any increase in HR or blood pressure since you started it? I've been considering an extract or capsule, but am wary since it theoretically could alter both of the above.

And for regular use, why not capsules instead of candies? Seems like it'd be healthier without the sugar. Nothing wrong with occasional candied ginger (I've tried them), but for everyday use it'd seem to make more sense to get the non-sugar variety.

Question for ginger people: have you noticed any increase in HR or blood pressure since you started it? I've been considering an extract or capsule, but am wary since it theoretically could alter both of the above.

And for regular use, why not capsules instead of candies? Seems like it'd be healthier without the sugar. Nothing wrong with occasional candied ginger (I've tried them), but for everyday use it'd seem to make more sense to get the non-sugar variety.

I haven't noticed any changes to my HR/BP.

Actually I've switched to eating a few grams of fresh ginger root.
Ginger is cheap if you can find an Indian store.

Question for ginger people: have you noticed any increase in HR or blood pressure since you started it? I've been considering an extract or capsule, but am wary since it theoretically could alter both of the above.

And for regular use, why not capsules instead of candies? Seems like it'd be healthier without the sugar. Nothing wrong with occasional candied ginger (I've tried them), but for everyday use it'd seem to make more sense to get the non-sugar variety.

Both of my grandmothers always eat candied ginger. I know that neither of them have BP related issues though or have ever had.

They always told me to eat ginger on a regular basis as it was "good for the body" in the folk medicine sense and they had both regularly consumed ginger since they were children.

I know ginger has some natural anti-bacterial qualities and it also "settles the stomach" (why they serve it with sushi) not sure if there's a scientific term for that. I know when I was younger and would have a stomach bug my mom would always give me ginger (for nausea) and it always helped. My roommate who was just training to get his pilots license has trouble with motion sickness and nausea and would always take capsulized ginger before flying and he said it always helped.

I definitely think it's one of those plants that has been used for years in "folk medicine" without any knowledge of the scientific properties save the fact that it was a general cure all.

Question for ginger people: have you noticed any increase in HR or blood pressure since you started it? I've been considering an extract or capsule, but am wary since it theoretically could alter both of the above.

And for regular use, why not capsules instead of candies? Seems like it'd be healthier without the sugar. Nothing wrong with occasional candied ginger (I've tried them), but for everyday use it'd seem to make more sense to get the non-sugar variety.

nameless, I know of both kinds of people. People for whom ginger definitely increases blood pressure every time and others to whom it does not make big difference. It definitely has the potential to raise BP in some. So monitor your BP if you decide to use.

I haven't noticed any changes to my HR/BP.

Don't you have a thread running right now about an unexplained high resting HR?

Don't you have a thread running right now about an unexplained high resting HR?

Yes, but I've had it for a long time. It's unrelated to the ginger, which is a new addition for me.

ginger root is chemically similar to red peppers. they have a very similar impact biologically in humans/mammals.

there is an interesting post on JLL's blog about body hair growth triggered by red peppers. it elevates some testosterone (i think it was dihydrotestosterone?) hormones and this triggers hair growth.

there is a hormonal cascade involved with stress (ie. cortisol) which is adrogenic and triggers hair growth. if you were very thin, malnourished and shivering/cold consistent, these cortisol/stress hormones would be upregulated and your body would grow hair as a defense mechanism (to warm and protect itself). i'm making a bit of a leap here, but very likely the same stress pathway underlies the body's response to ginger root/red pepper.

If you're correct, then surely that makes ginger good for male sexual health and bad for longevity :s

I may be in the minority here
I don't feel cortisol is necessarily inversely proportional to life expectancy
certainly in some cases yes (cushing's or addison's disease, prolonged hypercortisolemia, high cholesterol, etc)
but overall cortisol is useful for adaptation
without cortisol stress responses can be life threatening

I may be in the minority here
I don't feel cortisol is necessarily inversely proportional to life expectancy
certainly in some cases yes (cushing's or addison's disease, prolonged hypercortisolemia, high cholesterol, etc)
but overall cortisol is useful for adaptation
without cortisol stress responses can be life threatening

Thanks for this. Cortisol gets such a bad rap, but it really is necessary to manage psychological stress and inflammation - without it you are not a happy camper. Whenever I've taken cortisol-lowering agents, I got anxiety and brain fog.

Those seeking to avoid hypercortisolism should treat the stress, not the stress response, IMHO. /endsillyrant

Did anyone else notice that the control rodents in the ergo-log study had 6 times less malondialdehyde than controls? That's a pretty massive reduction in lipid peroxidation!

Whenever I've taken cortisol-lowering agents, I got anxiety and brain fog.

Those seeking to avoid hypercortisolism should treat the stress, not the stress response, IMHO. /endsillyrant

That's interesting, I have the same response. Do you know your cortisol levels when you used said agents ?
I had high levels, and apparently, PS has negative affects anyway.

A candied ginger recipe with a stevia substitution: http://altmedicine.a...tallizedgin.htm
Enjoy!

Whenever I've taken cortisol-lowering agents, I got anxiety and brain fog.

Those seeking to avoid hypercortisolism should treat the stress, not the stress response, IMHO. /endsillyrant

That's interesting, I have the same response. Do you know your cortisol levels when you used said agents ?
I had high levels, and apparently, PS has negative affects anyway.

I've never tested cortisol. I think a lot signs point to low cortisol (inflammatory issues, 0 visceral fat, poor stress response, excellent formation of memories, poor attention span, etc etc) or perhaps low glucocorticoid receptor sensitivity. However, I think testing absolute levels can be a bit misleading. Cortisol release is, after all, an adaptive response, so elevated cortisol might be partially compensating for emotional/physical stress, and bringing it down into the normal range worsens symptoms.

DHEA is elevated in the brains of schizophrenic patients, yet giving them more DHEA appears helpful. Our bodies' homeostatic mechanisms are wonderfully complex!

rwac and vespene
I'm collecting data to try and figure out the brain fog symptoms
DHEA is interesting because as it elevates from an elevated position apparently a negative feedback loop is in play here that's easier to manage than deficiency
With Cortisol, I have had the same symptoms
I think it stems from chemical lowering vs. natural decrease
akin to chemical sleep vs. natural sleep
the body knows the difference
physiology might possibly interpret the lowered cortisol to be in error without the negative feedback loop that produced the effect
therefore the brain fog is the result as the brain downregulates the limbic system or even posterior hypothalamus ???
I see this in people with fibromyalgia through decreased neuroendocrine function not managed effectively with cortisol lowering compounds

How do you eat fresh ginger root?

How do you eat fresh ginger root?

Nevermind, i'm just eating it raw. It has an interesting flavor.

Nevermind, i'm just eating it raw. It has an interesting flavor.

I find it easiest to cut it up into pieces and semi-chew semi-swallow.

Nevermind, i'm just eating it raw. It has an interesting flavor.

I find it easiest to cut it up into pieces and semi-chew semi-swallow.

The ginger candies have too much sugar. I was getting an upset stomach if I ate like, a pack a day. They can be addictive.

The capsaicin in red peppers increases IGF-1; not sure about testosterone and DHT.

I like spicy food too so this is worrying considering I also practice IF (which raises IGF1):

Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2009 Jun;73(6):1456-9. Epub 2009 Jun 7.
Effects of capsaicin and isoflavone on blood pressure and serum levels of insulin-like growth factor-I in normotensive and hypertensive volunteers with alopecia.
Harada N, Okajima K.

Department of Translational Medical Science Research, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Japan.
Abstract
Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) reduces arterial blood pressure. Since administration of capsaicin and isoflavone increases serum levels of IGF-I by sensory neuron stimulation in subjects with alopecia, it is possible that administration of capsaicin and isoflavone reduces arterial blood pressure in patients with hypertension. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) and serum levels of IGF-I were determined before and at 1, 3, and 5 months after administration of capsaicin and isoflavone in 42 volunteers with alopecia, 29 normotensive and 13 hypertensive volunteers. Neither systolic nor diastolic BP changed in the normotensive volunteers after combined administration of capsaicin and isoflavone. In contrast, systolic and diastolic BP was significantly reduced in hypertensive volunteers after administration of capsaicin and isoflavone. Serum levels of IGF-I significantly increased in both normotensive and hypertensive volunteers after administration of capsaicin and isoflavone. These observations suggest that administration of capsaicin and isoflavone might reduce BP in hypertensive, but not in normotensive subjects, probably by increasing serum levels of IGF-I.

PMID: 19502719 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

But I wonder is the effect of capsaicin that big? In these studies and the ones posted by JLL only like 6mg/day is used for capsaicin and 75mg used for isoflavanones.

In this study for mice they used 1mg/kg (which I think is quite a lot):

Neuropharmacology. 2007 Apr;52(5):1303-11. Epub 2007 Feb 4.
Stimulation of sensory neurons by capsaicin increases tissue levels of IGF-I, thereby reducing reperfusion-induced apoptosis in mice.
Harada N, Okajima K, Kurihara H, Nakagata N.

Department of Biodefense Medicine, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kawasumi 1, Mizuho-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya 467-8601, Japan.
Abstract
Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) increases insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) production in fetal rat osteoblasts in vitro, suggesting that stimulation of sensory neurons might increase IGF-I production, thereby preventing apoptosis. We examined whether stimulation of sensory neurons by capsaicin might reduce reperfusion-induced hepatic apoptosis by increasing IGF-I production. Administration of capsaicin increased tissue levels of IGF-I and IGF-I mRNA in various organs in wild-type (WT) mice, but not in CGRP-knock-out (CGRP-/-) mice. Administration of CGRP increased tissue levels of IGF-I and IGF-I mRNA in both WT and CGRP-/- mice. Increases in hepatic tissue levels of TNF, serum levels of transaminases, hepatic apoptosis and hepatic tissue levels of caspase-3 after hepatic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) were more marked in CGRP-/- mice than in WT mice. Hepatic IGF-I levels were increased in WT mice after reperfusion, while they were not changed in CGRP-/- mice. Although administration of capsaicin enhanced increases in IGF-I levels and reduced reperfusion-induced events in WT mice, it had no effect in CGRP-/- mice. Administration of CGRP and IGF-I reduced reperfusion-induced effects in both strains of mice. These observations suggested that capsaicin-induced sensory neuron activation, which leads to release of CGRP, might increase IGF-I production, thereby reducing reperfusion-induced liver injury by reducing apoptosis.

PMID: 17360009 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Last time I eat pepper because I take lots of high ranking herbs it just opened the pipes inside and I just had to go outside running and burn the energy. I didn't know why I had so much energy but I believe it was the synergy. Something like that happened:

One investigation of gotu kola was conducted in Provo Utah at Brigham Young University by a research psychologist who wanted to demonstrate gotu kola's amazing ability to overcome the negative effects of fatigue and stress when used in conjunction with cayenne pepper (Capsicum frutescens) and Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus).
Rodents were fed the three herbs by means of a surgical technique in which tubing was inserted under the skin, a couple of centimeters below the junction of the esophagus and stomach. Fatigue and stress situations were set up. One involved swimming in a bucket of cold water, and another was to jump a barrier in order to avoid a mild foot shock. Within 24 hours of administration of the three herbs, the animals could successfully clear the barrier after being dried off from the cold water treatment. Without the herbs, they required up to 72 hours to recuperate in order to jump the barrier. Dr. Mowrey concluded that a combination of capsicum, ginseng and gotu kola did have a beneficial effect on behaviour of stressed or fatigued animals whose metabolism are similar in many respects to that of man.[12]
From this research carried out in 1975, several large American herbal companies developed an "energy and stamina" formula utilizing gotu kola. Some of these can be obtained at your local health food store.

Traditionally Gotu kola is an energy giver and pepper and ginger are pipe openers.


Just my 2 cents.

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