**2.11** *Zingiber officinale*

*Z. officinale* (**Figure 12**), also known as Ginger, belongs to the *Zingiberaceae* family which comprises of close to two hundred species [38, 71]. *Z. officinale* is used for the treatment of respiratory symptoms and diseases including common cold, cough,

**Figure 11.** *Xysmalobium undulatum leaves and flowers.*

*Traditional Medicinal Plants as the Potential Adjuvant, Prophylactic and Treatment Therapy… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.104491*

#### **Figure 12.** Zingiber officinale *whole plant showing roots, stem, and leaves.*

asthma, influenza, headaches, sore throats, and fever (**Table 1**) and other diseases such as arthritis, rheumatism, nausea, flatulence, muscular aches, pains, cramps, constipation, hypertension, dementia, infectious diseases, helminthiasis, colic, and diarrhea [14, 38–40]. It has pharmacological activities including immunomodulatory, antitumorigenic, anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic, antihyperglycemic, antilipidemic, antiemetic, antipyretic, antioxidant, antibacterial, and analgesic [38–40]. Active compounds in ginger include phenolic and terpene compounds, and phenolic compounds in ginger include gingerols, paradols and shogaols, and paradols [39]. The profile and chemistry of *Z. officinale* makes it a perfect anti-inflammatory therapy in the context of upper respiratory affections [39]. Molecular docking *in silico* studies suggested that phytochemical compounds, such as 10-Paradol, 8-Paradol, Scopoletin, 10-Shogaol, 8-Gingerol, and 10-Gingerol, in *Z. officinale* (**Table 2**) have potential in reducing viral load and detaching of SARS-CoV-2 in the nasal passages [43].

Future aspects include the extraction of the medicinal plants listed in **Table 1**, the isolation of pure compounds as well as their fingerprinting and identification, and the confirmation of their mechanisms of action [72]. Further testing of extracts in animal models and investigations of effective and safe dosages, route administration, drug administration intervals, pharmacokinetics, and mechanisms of action are required before the use of medicinal plants discussed in this review can be advocated to be used for COVID-19 patients [7].
