Ginger is a familiar seasoning for people in Taiwan. Whether used for stir-frying, flavoring soups, or making ginger tea to keep warm in winter, it is closely connected to daily life. Ginger, belonging to the genus Zingiber in the family Zingiberaceae, is an important spice crop and medicinal vegetable. Currently, the average cultivation area of ginger in Taiwan has been approximately 900 hectares per year, with production mainly distributed in Nantou, Taitung, Taichung, and Miaoli County. In addition to fresh consumption, ginger is widely used in processed products, including shredded ginger, ginger powder, ginger juice, gingerol capsules, and essential oils, showing strong potential for diversified processing products. At present, Taiwan’s domestic ginger industry faces multiple challenges. First, cultivated ginger varieties in Taiwan are highly diverse, including Guangdong ginger, Chu ginger, and Nanyang ginger, and a systematic variety identification technique has not been established. Second, ginger products on the market vary greatly in shape, resulting in inconsistent quality, which increases the difficulty of quality control during processing. Third, ginger cultivation has severe soil sickness and poor seed ginger quality for propagation. Since 2017, the Taiwan Seed Improvement and Propagation Station (TSIPS) has been collecting ginger germplasm and implemented participatory selection with tissue culture techniques. TSIPS has established a propagation model for healthy seed ginger. Materials produced through this model are further used to develop functional component profiles, providing a foundation for diversified processing technologies.

  TSIPS stated that ginger is rich in various functional components and antioxidant substances, which can be mainly classified into non-volatile gingerol-related compounds and volatile essential oils. Gingerol-related compounds, including gingerol and shogaol, are the main components responsible for the pungent flavor of ginger and are currently known to have anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties. Through Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer analyses of the functional components of 19 different ginger accessions, TSIPS found clear differences in 6-gingerol content among different ginger types, with the highest level being up to 2.9 times greater than the lowest (Fig. 1). In addition, some ginger accessions contained a higher proportion of endo-borneol, which may influence consumer preference for the aroma and flavor of specific ginger types. Because mixed ginger accessions planting in the field makes it difficult to control ginger quality, the establishment of a healthy seed ginger propagation model can help stabilize the production of ginger types with high gingerol content and high yield. This will also contribute to improving both price competitiveness and quality of domestic agricultural production.

  TSIPS further indicated that, in addition to stabilizing ginger production quality, TSIPS is also actively exploring the potential of domestic ginger for diversified processing applications. For example, crude ginger extracts were used in hair follicle cell proliferation assays. The results showed that, after 24 and 48 hours of treatment, crude ginger extracts could provide nutrients for hair follicle cell growth. At concentrations ranging from 0.0078% to 0.5%, the crude extracts promoted cell growth and showed a dose-dependent relationship, indicating their potential for health care and cosmetic applications (Fig. 2). In the future, TSIPS will continue to connect with industry needs and integrate ginger trait evaluation with functional component analysis to establish a database. This will support the conservation, quantification, and diversified processing applications of superior domestic ginger germplasm.

▲Fig.1 Comparison of gingerol content among 19 ginger accessions showed clear differences in 6-gingerol levels, with the highest content(竹5) being 2.9 times greater than the lowest.

▲Fig. 2 Ginger accessions with the highest levels of functional components among different varieties were selected for hair follicle cell growth promotion assays. The results showed that ginger crude extract promoted cell growth at concentrations ranging from 0.0078% to 0.5%, with a dose-dependent relationship with best performance of ’竹5’(0.5%).