Histological Effect of Aqueous Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Extract On the Stomach of Adult Male Wistar Rats

Zingiber officinale commonly known as ''Ginger'' is a rhizome of the monocotyledonous perennial plant. Ginger is used as a remedy for treating many ailments such as arthritis, painful menstrual periods, nausea etc and contains sesquiterpenoids and monoterpenoids. The sesquiterpenoids include (-) zingiberene as the main component, lesser β-sesquiphellandrene, bisabolene and fernesene, while the monoterpenoids include β-phellandrene, cineol and citral. This study aimed to elucidate the effects of ginger on the histomorphology of the stomach using male adult wistar rats. Thirty adult wistar rats weighing between 190-200g were divided into control (group A) and two experimental groups B and C, each group containing ten rats. The animals in control group A received water only while the experimental groups B and C received 9mg/kg of ginger for 14 and 28 days respectively. 24 hours after the last administration, the animals were sacrificed and routinely processed histologically. At the end of the experiment, the results showed no significant changes compared to the control group. The cells, lamina propria, gastric pit, submucosa, muscularis externa and the serosa remain the same as that of the control.