Acute effects of dry extract of ginger on energy expenditure in eutrophic women: A randomized clinical trial.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Individual randomized crossover trial
PubMed 33487261 · doi:10.1016/j.clnesp.2020.10.001
What was done
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover clinical trial evaluated the acute thermogenic effects of ginger extract in 20 healthy, normal-weight (eutrophic) women. Participants consumed a standardized breakfast alongside either two capsules of dry ginger extract (5% gingerol) or a cellulose placebo, separated by at least a 7-day washout period. Indirect calorimetry, blood pressure, heart rate, axillary temperature, and blood metabolic profiles were measured at baseline and at 30, 60, 120, 180, and 240 minutes postprandial.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values. It reports no statistically significant differences between ginger and placebo in the thermic effect of food, oxygen consumption, respiratory quotient, blood pressure, heart rate, axillary temperature, or metabolic blood parameters across the 240-minute postprandial period.
Why it matters
Ginger is frequently promoted as a natural thermogenic agent, but this controlled trial found no acute increase in postprandial energy expenditure in healthy individuals.
Limits
The trial had a very small sample size (n = 20), tested only a single acute dose formulation in healthy normal-weight women, and did not assess chronic supplementation or alternative dose ranges. Exact numerical data and effect estimates were not provided in the abstract.