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Uraria picta is a medicinally important ‘dashmula’ plant found in dry grasslands of India and is facing overexploitation in wilds. Its roots have been used in traditional treatments while in modern medicine it is known to promote osteogenesis and possess anti-cancer properties. Rhizobium rhizogenes ATCC-15834 was used to induce hairy roots (HR) in in vitro raised U. picta seedlings. This is the first report of U. picta HR induction and characterization. The comparative biochemical and functional analysis showed that U. picta true roots (TR) and HR extracts display high free radical scavenging activity (~ 84%) and higher cytotoxic activity in cancer cell lines HeLa (71.18%) and MCF-7 (89.36%) as compared to the normal cell line HEK (58.87%). There was a twofold increase in HR biomass upon jasmonic acid (JA) treatment, while salicylic acid (SA) and abscisic acid (ABA) had no significant effects, though ABA led to increase in the HR thickness. In comparative metabolomics HR-LC/MS study, 39% metabolites were commonly detected in TR, HR and Hairy root exudates (HREx). Major chemical classes of the metabolites detected were lipids, benzenoids and organic acids represented by glutinone; estra-1,3,5(10)-triene-3,6 beta, 17 beta-triol triacetate; azokisaponin III; gingerol, shogaol and mucronine B with well-known therapeutic potentials. Additionally, a high proportion of unknown masses were also found in U. picta TR, HR and HREx, which needs further investigation. Due to the parallels in the biochemical, metabolomic and functional aspects of TR and HR, U. picta HR represents a sustainable alternative source of U. picta bioactives. Comparative metabolomics reveals similarities in the hairy roots and true roots of Uraria picta, making it a suitable biotechnological alternative for biosynthesis of specialized metabolites.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) is a popular spice used globally in ethnic cuisines and witnessed its extensive use in traditional medicine. In this study, we identified 12 phytochemicals from the ginger rhizome extract (hexane) through GC/MS analysis. After evaluating drug-likeliness, these phytochemicals were docked with 16 target proteins in silico, and docking scores were compared with their respective control drugs. Furthermore, multivariate statistical analysis (principal component analysis-PCA) was performed, and three different chemical clusters were identified. Pharmacophore analysis further identified common functional descriptors in the compounds under study. Finally, we developed a unique three-level network taking phytochemicals, target proteins and associated diseases based on the optimum docking scores. Overall, Oleic acid, Palmitic acid and Shogaol showed the highest coverage to the target proteins (12, 10 and 9 targets, respectively) and Oleic Acid scored the highest (5956) in PatchDock when docked against Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PDB id 1KNU, UniProt id P37231). This work provided significant insight into developing the protocol for rapid identification of potential drug likeliness of the identified phytochemicals.

The components in the methanol extract of Zingiber officinale var rubrum (red ginger) were isolated by a series of column chromatography and identified by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS). Thirteen components, including eleven vanilloid compounds, were isolated from the extract. All the isolated components reduced extracellular melanin contents. Structure-activity relationship studies suggested that elongation of the carbon chain of shogaol and gingerol increased the extracellular melanogenesis inhibitory activity, and that the carbonyl and hydroxyl groups on the carbon chain in gingerol played an important role in this effect. In order to reveal the importance of the vanillyl group for the melanogenesis inhibitory activity, 6-gingerol (1) and 6-shogaol (5), which were the main compounds in the extract, were glucosylated and their effects were evaluated. The glucosylated 6-shogaol resulted in improved melanogenesis inhibitory activity, while the glucosylated 6-gingerol had no such effect. These results indicated different mechanisms for the melanogenesis inhibitory activity of the two vanilloid compounds.

Ovarian cancer is predominant form of malignant which occupies 70 % cancer in women worldwide. Taxals, anthrocyclins and platinum based drugs are used as chemotherapeutic for treatment of ovarian cancer. These drugs were limited by drug resistance and it produces several toxicity. Therefore, we used natural drug which inhibits the cancer cell growth by modulating specific molecular mechanisms. This study, we evaluated the 6-shogaol a active component from ginger inhibits cell proliferation by modulation of JAK/STAT-3 signalling in ovarian cancer cell lines (A2780). In this study, we found that 6-shogaol induces cytotoxicity, ROS production and apoptosis in A2780 cell lines by time depending manner. Moreover, signal transducer and activating transcription-3 (STAT-3) has been consider as novel transcriptional factor which regulates apoptosis, cell proliferation and angiogensis. Inhibition of STAT-3 transcription considered as novel strategy to inhibiting ovarian cell growth. In this study, we found that 6-shogaol inhibits STAT-3 translocation there by inhibits the over expression of PCNA, cyclin-D1, Bcl-2 and decreased expression of Bax, caspase-9 and 3 in A2780 cell lines. This results concluded that 6-shogaol inhibits ovarian cell growth and induces apoptosis through inhibits the translocation STAT-3.

Ginger (Zingiber Officinale Roscoe) has been known reduce muscle pain after exercise, and 6-shogaol {(E)-1-(4-Hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)dec-4-en-3-one)} is the major essential oil contained in ginger. In this study, the protective effect of 6-shogaol on L6 muscle cells against oxidative damage was measured. 6-shagol inhibited the damage of L6 cell induced by H2O2, and allowed the increase in mRNA and protein expression levels of intracellular HO-1 and NRF2. 6-shogaol also reduced the production of intracellular ROS. These results suggested that 6-shagol effectively inhibits oxidative damage of skeletal muscle cell.

Aging is a key risk factor for many diseases, understanding the mechanism of which is becoming more important for drug development given the fast-growing aging population. In the course of our continued efforts to discover anti-aging natural products, the active constituent 6-shogaol was isolated from Zingiber officinale Roscoe. The chemical structure of 6-shogaol was identified by comparison of its NMR data with literature values. The lifespan-extending effect of 6-shogaol was observed in a dose-dependent manner in Caenorhabditis elegans that has been widely used as a model organism for human aging studies. Mechanism of such action was investigated using C. elegans models, suggesting that 6-shogaol is capable of increasing stress tolerances via enzyme induction. The proposed mechanism was further supported by observation of the increase in SOD and HSP expressions upon treatment with 6-shogaol in transgenic strains of C. elegans which contain GFP-based reporters. In addition, the mechanism was elaborated by confirming that the effect observed for 6-shogaol is independent from other aging-related factors that are known to affect the aging process of C. elegans.

Zingiberis Rhizoma is a typical Chinese herb in ‘hot’ property. Nowadays, increasing attention has been aroused for its essential role in both health care and treatment of ‘cold’ syndrome. And research about characteristics of Zingiberis Rhizoma is able to provide an important reference for its deeper understand and successful clinic application. However, cognition level about the ‘hot’ property of Zingiberis Rhizoma is superficial, and mechanism behind the ‘hot’ presentation is still elusive and unclear. In this study, the ‘hot’ property of Zingiberis Rhizoma was investigated at a monomer level with assistance of microcalorimetry, an objective and sensitive method in evaluating biological activity. Three bioactive compounds including 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol and 6-shogaol were selected, and their thermal activities were explored with mitochondria as target. The power–time curves were recorded, and five thermal parameters (k, P max, T max, Q and P av) were obtained. With PCA, P av was calculated to be the main parameter to measure the bioactivities of 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol and 6-shogaol. Finally, the bioactivities of three subjects were compared with sequence to be 6-gingerol > 8-gingerol > 6-shogaol. Generally, our study is promising to offer a reference to the research about characteristics of Zingiberis Rhizoma or other herbs and is of great interest for clinic practice.

Background 6-Shogaol is a constituent of ginger that imparts the pungent flavor and a hydrolysis product of gingerols. This study aimed to investigate the potential of 6-shogaol as a natural cosmetic raw material by examining its anti-apoptotic, antioxidant, and anti-aging effects in human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs). Methods Cell cycle analysis, ApoAlert caspase-3 colorimetric assay, and qRT-PCR analysis to assess the anti-apoptotic effects and qRT-PCR to measure the expression of SOD, CAT, and NRF2 to assess the antioxidant effects of 6-shogaol were performed; dichlorofluorescein diacetate was used to measure reactive oxygen species (ROS). Anti-aging effects were examined using qRT-PCR analysis to measure the expression of COL1A1 and MMP1 as well as using an SA-beta Gal assay. Results 6-Shogaol showed no toxicity in HDFs at concentrations 5, 10, and 20 μM, and increased cell viability in a dose-dependent manner. qRT-PCR analysis showed that 6-shogaol pre-treatment downregulated the expression of BAX, caspase 3, and caspase 9 in a dose-dependent manner. Sub-G1 cells, which are rarely found in the normal cell cycle, decreased in a concentration-dependent manner after 6-shogaol pre-treatment, and treatment ameliorated the ROS increase observed upon UVA (10 J/cm2) irradiation of HDFs and the expression of NRF2 increased in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, the expression of SOD and CAT, which are typical cellular antioxidant enzymes, increased. 6-Shogaol also increased the expression of COL1A1, the gene type 1 collagen in HDFs, and decreased the expression of MMP1, which codes for an enzyme that degrades type 1 collagen, thus promoting collagen formation. Conclusions These results suggest that 6-shogaol can be used as a cosmetic material for preventing skin aging because of the cytoprotective, anti-apoptotic, and antioxidant effects in the HDFs identified in this study.

Background Antibiotic resistance is a defense mechanism, harbored by pathogens to survive under unfavorable conditions. Among several antibiotic resistant microbial consortium, Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most havoc microorganisms. Staphylococcus aureus encodes a unique enzyme 6-hydroxymethyl-7,8-dihydropterin pyrophosphokinase (SaHPPK), against which, none of existing antibiotics have been reported. Methods Computational approaches have been instrumental in designing and discovering new drugs for several diseases. The present study highlights the impact of ginger phytochemicals on Staphylococcus aureus SaHPPK. Herein, we have retrieved eight ginger phytochemicals from published literature and investigated their inhibitory interactions with SaHPPK. To authenticate our work, the investigation proceeds considering the known antibiotics alongside the phytochemicals. Molecular docking was performed employing GOLD and CDOCKER. The compounds with the highest dock score from both the docking programmes were tested for their inhibitory capability in vitro. The binding conformations that were seated within the binding pocket showing strong interactions with the active sites residues rendered by highest dock score were forwarded towards the molecular dynamic (MD) simulation analysis. Results Based on molecular dock scores, molecular interaction with catalytic active residues and MD simulations studies, two ginger phytochemicals, gingerenone-A and shogaol have been proposed as candidate inhibitors against Staphylococcus aureus. They have demonstrated higher dock scores than the known antibiotics and have represented interactions with the key residues within the active site. Furthermore, these compounds have rendered considerable inhibitory activity when tested in vitro. Additionally, their superiority was corroborated by stable MD results conducted for 100 ns employing GROMACS package. Conclusions Finally, we suggest that gingerenone-A and shogaol may either be potential SaHPPK inhibitors or can be used as fundamental platforms for novel SaHPPK inhibitor development. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12941-018-0266-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

6-Shogaol [(4E)-1-(4-Hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-4-decen-3-one] is a pungent and bioactive ingredient of ginger. This study investigated the biotransformation of 6-shogaol by Aspergillus niger. 6-Shogaol was fermented by A. niger, and the resultant metabolites were structurally characterized by liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF MS). As a result, 6-shogaol was biotransformed to yield metabolites: M1, M2 (6-paradol), M3, and M4. The major metabolic routes were reduction and hydroxylation; the carbonyl group and double bond of 6-shogaol were reduced to generate M1 and M2, respectively, which were further hydroxylated or reduced to M3 and M4. Among these metabolites, M1 was reported for the first time in this study.

6-Shogaol [1-(4-hydroxy-methoxyphenyl)-4-decen-one], a pungent compound isolated from ginger, has shown various neurobiological and anti-inflammatory effects. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of 6-shogaol on neuroinflammatory-induced damage of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in Parkinson's disease (PD) models.Cultured rat mesencephalic cells were treated with 6-shogaol (0.001 and 0.01 μmol/L) for 1 h, then with MPP(+)(10 μmol/L) for another 23 h. The levels of TNF-α and NO in medium were analyzed spectrophotometrically. C57/BL mice were administered 6-shogaol (10 mg·kg(-1)·d(-1), po) for 3 d, and then MPTP (30 mg/kg, ip) for 5 d. Seven days after the last MPTP injection, behavioral testings were performed. The levels of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and macrophage antigen (MAC)-1 were determined with immunohistochemistry. The expression of iNOS and COX-2 was measured using RT PCR.In MPP(+)-treated rat mesencephalic cultures, 6-shogaol significantly increased the number of TH-IR neurons and suppressed TNF-α and NO levels. In C57/BL mice, treatment with 6-shogaol reversed MPTP-induced changes in motor coordination and bradykinesia. Furthermore, 6-shogaol reversed MPTP-induced reductions in TH-positive cell number in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) and TH-IR fiber intensity in stratum (ST). Moreover, 6-shogaol significantly inhibited the MPTP-induced microglial activation and increases in the levels of TNF-α, NO, iNOS, and COX-2 in both SNpc and ST.6-Shogaol exerts neuroprotective effects on DA neurons in in vitro and in vivo PD models.

To investigate the pharmacokinetics of [6]-shogaol, a pungent ingredient of Zingiber officinale Roscoe, the pharmacokinetic parameters were determined by using (14)C-[6]-shogaol (labeled compound) and [6]-shogaol (non-labeled compound). When the labeled compound was orally administered to rats, the maximum plasma concentration (C (max)) and the area under the curve (AUC) of plasma radioactivity concentration increased in a dose-dependent manner. When the labeled compound was orally administered at a dose of 10 mg/kg, 20.0 + or - 1.8% of the radioactivity administered was excreted into urine, 64.0 + or - 12.9% into feces, and 0.2 + or - 0.1% into breath. Thus, more of the radioactivity was excreted into feces than into urine, and almost no radioactivity was excreted into breath. Furthermore, when the labeled compound was orally administered at a dose of 10 mg/kg, cumulative biliary radioactivity excretion over 48 h was 78.5 + or - 4.5% of the radioactivity administered, and cumulative urinary radioactivity excretion over 48 h was 11.8 + or - 2.7%, showing that about 90% of the dose administered orally was absorbed from the digestive tract and most of the fecal excretion was via biliary excretion. On the other hand, when the non-labeled compound [6]-shogaol was orally administered, the plasma concentration and biliary excretion of the unchanged form were extremely low. When these results are combined with those obtained with the labeled compound, it would suggest that [6]-shogaol is mostly metabolized in the body and excreted as metabolites.

To prove uniqueness of allylic alcohol formation from α,β-unsaturated ketones by mammal enzymes, a metabolic pattern of dehydroparadols, non-pungent synthetic analogs of shogaol byAspergillus niger was examined. Two biotransformation products of a dehydroparadol, 1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-non-1-en-3-one were accumulated in the culture broth ofA. niger. They were characterized as 1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-non-1-en-9-ol-3-one and 1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-nonan-9-ol-3-one by UV, NMR and mass spectroscopic analyses. Accumulation of allylic alcohol metabolites was not observed.