Polangui General Comprehensive High School
Polangui, Albay
Anticoagulant Property of Ginger, Zingibier officinale in Albino Rat’s Blood
John Carl V. Reforsado
Researcher
Mrs. Susan Peñafiel
Research Adviser
CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM
INTRODUCTION
“Every six minutes, one person dies from a blood clot.” This is according to a health organization website which main goal is to advance prevention against life-threatening blood clots. The records of Philippine Heart Center (PHC, 2007), blood clot disease incidences occur as frequently among Asians as do among Caucasians. Blood clots can occur in many different circumstances and in many different locations of the body. Blood clots that form in response to an injury or a cut are beneficial, stopping potentially dangerous bleeding. However, a number of conditions can cause you develop blood clots in critical locations, such as your lungs and brain which requires medical attention. If it not treated, this may result into serious diseases like deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, heart failure or clot-provoked stroke.
Fortunately, blood clots can be cured with a wide range of drugs and lifestyle changes. There is a new clot treatment what we called anticoagulants. Anticoagulants also known as “blood thinner” are used to slow the time it takes for a blood to clot. The history of traditional anticoagulants is marked by both perseverance and serendipity. The anticoagulant effect of heparin was discovered by McLean in 1915, while he was searching for a procoagulant in dog liver. Link identified dicumarol from spoiled sweet clover hay in 1939 as the causal agent of the sweet clover disease, a hemorrhagic disorder in cattle. Hirudin extracts from the medicinal leech were first used for parenteral anticoagulation in the clinic in 1909, but their use was limited due to adverse effects and difficulties in achieving highly purified extracts.
Anticoagulants also prevent clots from growing. The most common blood thinners used today are heparin, low molecular weight heparin, and warfarin. In that medication, we are not sure if that kind of way of curing is safe, so researchers are striving just to find a medicine or a treatment that can be use safely. Ginger (Zingibier officinale) is a flowering plant in the family Zingiberaceae whose rhizome, ginger root or simply ginger, is widely used as a spice or a folk medicine. Ginger is indigenous to South China, and was spread eventually to the Spice Islands, other parts of Asia and subsequently to West Africa. The origin of “ginger” is from the mid- 14th century, from Old English gingifer, from Latin gingiber, and from Greek zingiberis. Ginger is extremely rich in potassium. It also has good amount of minerals like iron, magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus. Ginger has also has a small amount of iron, sodium, zinc, manganese, and selenium. The presence of antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral properties of ginger made the plant useful. And in this research, the researcher will be studying about its anticoagulation effect and its ability in treating blood clots.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This study aimed to determine the ability of Zingibier officinale, Ginger as an anticoagulant in albino rat’s blood.
General Statement: Is Zingibier officinale, Ginger effective as an anticoagulant in albino rat’s blood?
Specifically, this study seeks to answer the following questions: 1. Is this product will be more effective than any other commercial anticoagulant products? 2. Which of the proportions of Ginger and water is most effective in the liquefaction of albino rat’s blood? a. 20 g of Ginger: 20 mL of water b. 30 g of Ginger: 20 mL of water
HYPOTHESIS
Based on the problem cited, this study formulated a hypothesis, this is: H0: Zingibier officinale, Ginger is not an effective anticoagulant to cure blood clots. H1: Zingibier officinale, Ginger is an effective anticoagulant to cure blood clots.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The effectual contribution of the study is to benefit the people with hypercoagulable state which can be dangerous if not properly identified or treated. This study may help them avoid or lessen the chances in acquiring blood clotting disorders such as anemia, arteriosclerosis, pulmonary embolism, heart attack, and stroke. Furthermore, the result of the study may be beneficial not only to the person with hypercoagulable state but also to the students, researcher and farmers. To the students, this will contribute to their knowledge. To the farmers, the study may help them earn more a lot. The result of this study will help the researcher gain merit.
SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY This research is focused on the effectiveness of ginger as an anticoagulant in albino rat’s blood. This will be conducted starting October 2015 until the end of March 2016 in Polangui General Comprehensive High School and Lanigay, Polangui, Albay.
Purpose: To discover alternative and more natural ways in the liquefaction of albino rat’s blood
Subject Matter: Ginger: Anticoagulant in albino rat’s blood
Population or Universe: Person with hypercoagulable state
Locale: Polangui, Albay
Period of the study: October 2015 to March 2016 (5 Months)
DEFINITION OF TERMS Anticoagulants. Commonly referred to as “blood thinners,” that lengthen the time it takes for blood to clot. They are used to prevent or to treat blood clots, which may be injected either into a vein or under the skin, or taken by mouth. Blood Clot. A gelatinous or semisolid mass of coagulated blood. Coagulation. Process by which blood changes from a liquid to a gel, forming clot. Deep Vein Thrombosis. Formation of blood clots (thrombus) within a deep vein, predominantly in legs. Heparin. An anticoagulant that prevents the formation of blood clots. Hypercoagulable state. The medical term for a condition in which there is an abnormally increased tendency toward blood clotting or coagulation. Warfarin. Anticoagulant normally used in prevention of thrombosis and other blood clot diseases.
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDY This chapter contains readings collected from books, articles, website pages and other educational printed materials. Several literature and studies were found relevant to the present studies.
(1) In using other ways of proving, Danish researchers at Odense University have studied the anticoagulant properties of ginger and found out that it is more potent blood emdash; clotting agent than garlic or onion. They also found out that ginger contains warfarin, an anticoagulant mainly used by doctors.
(2) Only two out of a group of researchers proved that ginger has been shown to inhibit platelet aggregation and to decrease platelet thromboxane production in vitro. They found out that ginger exhibited anti-platelet components such as (8)-Gingerol, (8)- shogaol, and (8)- paradol. However, its effects in vivo have not been well studied. Although Verma et al. (one of the researchers) found ginger to decrease platelet aggregation, Lumb found no effect of ginger on platelet count, bleeding time, or platelet aggregation. Similarly, Bordia et al. found no effect on platelet aggregation, fibrinolytic activity, or fibrinogen levels. Janssem et al. showed no effect of oral ginger on platelet thromboxane B2 production, while Srivastava found thromboxane levels to be decreased by ginger ingestion in a study.
(3) Anticoagulants are a class of drugs that work to prevent the coagulation (clotting) of blood. Such substances occur naturally in leeches and blood-sucking insects. A group of pharmaceuticals called anticoagulants can be used as an injection into human beings as a medication for thrombotic disorders. Oral anticoagulants are also available. Some anticoagulants are used in medical equipment, such as test tubes, blood transfusion bags, and renal dialysis equipment. Anticoagulants reduce blood clotting which can help prevent deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke.
Therapeutic uses of anticoagulants include atrial fibrillation, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, venous thromboembolism, congestive heart failure, stroke, myocardial infarction, and genetic or acquired hypercoagulability.
The decision to begin therapeutic anticoagulation often involves the use of multiple bleeding risk predictable outcome tools as non-invasive pre-test stratifications due to the potential for bleeds while on blood thinning agents. Among these tools are HAS-BLED, ATRIA, and CHA2DS2-VASc.
(4) Ginger and dietary supplements containing ginger might have some potential to interact with warfarin. Sources suggest that ginger may increase the risk of bleeding in patients taking warfarin. Studies have shown that increasing testing frequency with weekly testing of INR improves patient safety and helps keep the drug in its therapeutic effective zone. Weekly testing was shown to be the most effective testing frequency. Medicare and many private/commercial insurance reimburse patients for weekly patient self-testing.
(5) Several herbs may have the potential to interfere with warfarin therapy. However, because information about the pharmacologic activity, therapeutic efficacy, and adverse effects of most alternative medicine products is limited, the clinical significance of potential warfarin-herb interactions is unknown. Herbs that have been identified as having the theoretical potential to interfere with warfarin therapy are feverfew, garlic, ginger, and ginko.
(6) With respect to the previous number, several natural products contain substances that have coumarin, salicylate, or antiplatelet properties. Therefore, a theoretical risk for potentiation of the pharmacologic activity of warfarin exists when these herbs are taken with warfarin. Herbs thought to contain coumarin or coumarin derivatives include angelica root, arnica flower, anise, asafoetida, celery, chamomile, fenugreek, horse chestnut, licorice root, lovage root, ginger, parsley, passionflower herb, quassia, red clover, and rue. Meadowsweet, poplar, and willow bark contain high concentrations of salicylates, while bromelain, clove, onion, and turmeric have been reported to exhibit antiplatelet activity. Borage seed oil contains glinoleic acid, which may increase coagulation time. Bogbean has been noted to demonstrate hemolytic activity, and capsicum has been reported to cause hypocoagulability. There have been no documented case reports of an interaction of warfarin with any of these herbs. However, patients taking any products containing these herbs concurrently with medications that have anticoagulant effects, such as warfarin, should be closely monitored for signs or symptoms of bleeding.
(7) In thrombotic stroke a thrombus (blood clot) usually forms around atherosclerotic plaques. Since blockage of the artery is gradual, onset of symptomatic thrombotic strokes is slower than that of a hemorrhagic stroke. A thrombus itself (even if it does not completely block the blood vessel) can lead to an embolic stroke (see below) if the thrombus breaks off and travels in the bloodstream, at which point it is called an embolus.
CHAPTER III This chapter presents a thorough discussion on the research methodology and procedures used in this study. METHOD OF RESEARCH
Since the study is concerned with the extraction of Ginger (luya) as an anticoagulant substance to albino rat’s blood, the experimental method of research will be used. It will be needing manipulation of dependent and independent variables to determine the result of the study.
In this experiment, the independent variable will be the extracts from ginger and the dependent variable will be the albino rat’s blood. METHODOLOGY The materials to be used in the experiment are cheesecloth, cloth, mortar and pestle, small bottle, tongs, beaker, stopwatch and blender. Sterilization First, the materials to be used will be washed using the dishwashing liquid. Then, it will be dried using the cloth. Then, the washed materials will be put inside the sterilizer and will be sterilized for more than 15 minutes. After the materials are sterilized, it will be picked using the tongs and will be left aside in room temperature.. Extraction
Concentration 1 (30 grams of Ginger)
First, the 30g of Ginger will be washed and will be pounded using the mortar and pestle. Using the cheese cloth, the pounded ginger will be squeezed until the pure extract is obtained. The extract will be transferred into a small bottle and will be labeled as Concentration 1.
Concentration 2 (20g of Ginger and 20ml water) First, the 20g of Ginger will be washed and placed in the blender. Then, a 50 ml beaker will be filled up with 20 ml of distilled water and will be poured in the blender with the ginger in it. To get the extract, the mixed extract from the blender will be transferred to a clean piece of cheesecloth and will be squeezed. The extract will be then placed in a small bottle and will be labeled as Concentration 2.
Concentration 3 (30g of Ginger and 20ml water) First, the 30g of Ginger will be washed and placed in the blender. Then, a 50 ml beaker will be filled up with 20 ml of distilled water and poured in the blender with the garlic in it. To get the extract, the mixed extract from the blender will be transferred to a clean piece of cheesecloth and will be squeezed. The extract will be then placed in a small bottle and will be labeled as Concentration 3. Testing the Effectiveness of the Extract / Treatment To provide the researcher for the albino rat’s blood required for the testing, he will need an expertise of a veterinarian. The duration of the blood to coagulate will be calculated using a stopwatch and this will be the basis if the extract is an effective blood thinner. All Concentrations will be added separately to a container filled with the same amount of albino rat’s blood and will be timed according to its coagulation process. The time duration of the concentrations will be then compared to the time allotment of the coagulation process of the blood without extract. If there are any changes of time, then the study is successful.
METHODS OF COLLECTING DATA
Three methods of collecting data will be used in the study which is library method, observation method and experimentation method.
Library method will be used in the gathering of data from secondary sources like books, encyclopedias, dictionaries and Internet. Observation method will be used to determine the ability of ginger extract as an anticoagulant in albino rat’s blood. Experimentation method will be used in making the extracts from the raw material.
Bibliography
1 Foster, S. Your Food Is Your Medicine Article and Photography. Retrieved from October 26, 2015, from http://www.stevenfoster.com/education/monograph/ginger.html 2 Kumar, A., Kumar, A., and Mishra R.K. Pharmacological Activity of Zingiber officinale. International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Chemical Sciences. Retrieved from October 26, 2015, from http://ijpcsonline.com/files/71-227.pdf
3 Staff, Alere. Ginger and Warfarin. PT. INR. Retrieved from October 26, 2015, from http://ptinr.com/warfarin-you/drug-other-medications/natural-medicines-vitamins/ginger-and-warfarin
4 Dewitt, B.A., Heck, A.M., and Luke, A.L. Potential Interactions between Alternative Therapies and Warfarin. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy Retrieved from October 27, 2015, from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/406896_2
5 Dewitt, B.A., Heck, A.M., and Luke, A.L. Herbs with Coumarin, Salicylate, or Antiplatelet Properties. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy Retrieved from October 27, 2015, from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/406896_2 