Immunomodulatory and Antiallergic Potentials of the Bioactive Compounds of Ginger

Background: Allergy is an ever-increasing immune disorder and is often fatal under certain circumstances. Lack of total curative medication prompts the search for various compounds as the lead molecules. Ginger, Zingiber officinale Roscoe, is a well-established medicinal plant in different traditional practices. Its use as antiallergic or anti-inflammatory agent has been vindicated but the underlying mechanism of action is yet unknown. Method: In this study, we analyzed the phytocompounds characterized from ginger for their binding affinities on cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1 (CysLTR1) and histamine H1 receptor (H1R) by molecular docking. The molecular interactions were compared against known agonists and antagonists of the two receptors. Results: The data indicate that ginger compounds have high binding affinity for both LTR1 and H1R comparable to those of antiallergic medications. The highest binding affinities were recorded for gingerenone-A (-7.3 kcal/mol) and zingiberol (-7.2 kcal/mol) on LTR1; and gingerenone-A (-8.7 kcal/mol) and α-curcumene (-8.0 kcal/mol) on H1R. Conclusion: In addition to antiallergic activity, molecular predications on the probable biological activities of the ginger compounds show that they can have a variety of medicinal applications including immunomodulatory and anticancer activities.