A clinical trial enrolled 100 migraine patients in a double blind placebo controlled study to compare ginger root to the prescription drug sumatriptan.
For some people these prescription drugs may find migraine relief, however, there are side effects that people may find bothersome including chest pain, dizziness, fatigue, tingling of the skin, dry mouth, hot flashes, and dry mouth.
There are several “me too” drugs like sumatriptan in the class known as “triptans” including rizatriptan (Maxalt®), naratriptan (Amerge®), eletriptan (Relpax®), almotriptan (Axert®), and zolmitriptan (Zomig).
Ginger products have long been used for motion sickness, acid reflux, and joint pain and there may be another use.
According to a study in the journal Phytotherapy Research a new use may be for controlling migraine headaches. The purpose of this clinical trial was to compare ginger to sumatriptan for the common migraine.
Here are more studies on plant medicine for migraines.
Here are the details of the study
– Study design: Double blind randomized controlled trial
– Patients: 100 human subjects were enrolled in the study who were diagnosed by a neurologist with migraine without aura.
- 50 patients received sumatriptan and 50 patients received ginger root.
- Average patient age was 35 years old
- Average duration of migraine diagnosis was 7.3 years
– Study agents: Patients received either 250 mg of ginger powder root or 50 mg of sumatriptan
Here are the results
– 64% of the ginger group found relief (i.e. >90% decrease in headache severity) at 2 hours
– 70% of the imitrex group found relief (i.e. >90% decrease in headache severity) at 2 hours
– Side effects (20% of patients) from sumatriptan were dizziness, a sedative effect, vertigo and heartburn.
– Side effects (4% of patients) from ginger was acid reflux.
Here are more studies reporting on plant medicine for pain relief.
Here is what the authors had to say
Consequently, ginger products are a favorable choice for treatment of acute migraine without aura when compared with sumatriptan. Therefore, it is recommended for migrainous patients who are uneasy or poorly responsive to other medications or in general simply tend to use herbal remedies. It is suggested a more extensive placebo‐controlled study which can measure the effectiveness of various doses of ginger‐based medications with differing types and severities of migraine is examined.
Take away message
These result of this study suggest that ginger could be beneficial for people experiencing migraines. The study participants took 1 capsule of ginger root (250 mg) at headache onset.
These results help support a case report of ginger relieving migraine symptoms, however, more studies are needed. In people who experienced “moderate” or “severe” migraine headaches 100% of patients found relief (i.e. 34 people) with ginger root powder 250 mg.
Reference
Maghbooli et al. Comparison between the efficacy of ginger and sumatriptan in the ablative treatment of the common migraine. Phytotherapy Research. 2014; Voluem 28 (Issue 3): pages 412-5.
His research on plant medicine has led to more than 45 publications and abstracts.This research has been presented at international meetings in the USA, France, Turkey, Peru, Israel, Austria, and Italy.
Categories: Clinical Trials, Headaches, Migraines, Nausea, Pain