Ginger improves Cognitive Impairment and Oxidative Stress following Cerebral Ischemia
Jittiwat & Wattanathorn have demonstrated that ginger could potentially improve memory impairment following cerebral ischemia.
Using Ginger and pharmacopuncture, in combination, in an induced stroke animal model system, they demonstrated enhanced spatial memory, and the activities of catalase and glutathione peroxidase in both cerebral cortex and hippocampus were improved.
Cognitive enhancement was observed sooner with ginger pharmacopuncture than with acupuncture alone.
In conclusion, the cognitive enhancing effect of acupuncture and ginger pharmacopuncture is likely to be at least partially attributable to decreased oxidative stress. However, other mechanisms may also be involved, and this requires further study.