The effects of ginger supplementation on the expression of superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase enzymes and lipid peroxidation level in healthy men

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of ginger supplementation on the gene expression of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzymes and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. Materials and Methods: In a semi-experimental trial, 20 students with 20-25 years old from Shahed were selected and randomly divided into experimental (10) and control (10) groups. The experimental group received one gram of ginger capsule at the doses of 250 mg, four times a day, for eghit weeks. Control subjects, also received placebo (maltodextrin) in the same manner. Blood samples were taken 72 hours before the start and 72 hours after the completion of the research protocol. The statistical methods of Kolmogorov-Smirnov, t dependent and independent, as well as SPSS (version 22) and Excel were used (P <0.05). Results: There was no difference between the groups in the gene expression of the antioxidant enzymes and MDA levels (p = 0.144 for SOD, p = 0.234 for cat, p = 0.1 for GPX, and p = 0.201 for MDA). In the experimental group, ginger supplement lead to significant reduction in MDA levels (p = 0.01). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, it can be said that eghit weeks of supplementation of ginger may reduce the lipid peroxidation without affecting gene expression of antioxidant enzymes. Keywords: Herbal supplement, Oxidative stress, Gene expression.