Gingerol ([6]-gingerol) is a phenolicphytochemical compound found in fresh ginger that activates heat receptors on the tongue.[1][2] It is normally found as a pungent yellow oil in the ginger rhizome, but can also form a low-melting crystalline solid. This chemical compound is found in all members of the Zingiberaceae family and is high in concentrations in the grains of paradise as well as an African Ginger species.
Cooking ginger transforms gingerol via a reverse aldol reaction into zingerone, which is less pungent and has a spicy-sweet aroma. When ginger is dried or mildly heated, gingerol undergoes a dehydration reaction forming shogaols, which are about twice as pungent as gingerol.[3] This explains why dried ginger is more pungent than fresh ginger.[4]
Ginger also contains [8]-gingerol, [10]-gingerol,[5] and [12]-gingerol,[6] collectively deemed gingerols.
^NSF InternationalDetermination of Gingerols and Shogaols in Zingiber officinale rhizome and powdered extract by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography[full citation needed]
^McGee, Harold (2004). "A survey of tropical spices". McGee on Food and Cooking. Hodder and Stoughton. p. 426. ISBN0-340-83149-9.
^Park M, Bae J, Lee DS (November 2008). "Antibacterial activity of [10]-gingerol and [12]-gingerol isolated from ginger rhizome against periodontal bacteria". Phytotherapy Research. 22 (11): 1446–9. doi:10.1002/ptr.2473. PMID18814211. S2CID31384218.