Ginger compounds and blood sugar in cells and mice
What it found
Two ginger compounds, 6-shogaol and 6-paradol, helped fat and muscle cells take up more glucose in lab tests, and 6-paradol lowered blood sugar, cholesterol and body weight in mice fed a high-fat diet.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Glucose use in cells
In lab tests, 6-shogaol and 6-paradol made mouse fat cells and muscle cells take up more glucose, both with and without insulin. 6-Shogaol worked better than 6-gingerol, which earlier studies had credited for ginger's effects.
Fat build-up in cells
In lab tests, 6-shogaol and 6-paradol reduced fat build-up in mouse fat cells. Pioglitazone, a diabetes drug used for comparison, did not.
How the cells responded
The boost in glucose use from 6-shogaol and 6-paradol came with increased activity of a cell protein called AMPK. Blocking AMPK in the cells cancelled the effect of 6-shogaol.
Blood sugar in mice
In mice fed a high-fat diet, 6-paradol at both doses lowered blood sugar during a glucose tolerance test, to a similar level as pioglitazone. Fasting glucose was also lower in the high-dose group.
Weight and cholesterol
Mice given 6-paradol for 8 weeks lost body weight, with an effect seen after 4 weeks. Total cholesterol fell in both dose groups, and triglycerides were partly lowered at the high dose.
Liver and kidney markers
A liver enzyme called ALT rose in untreated high-fat diet mice but not in those given 6-paradol. Creatinine was slightly raised in the high-dose group.
What the authors conclude
“The results also indicated that 6-paradol could be considered as an active anti-hyperglycemic component of ginger.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say 6-shogaol and 6-paradol strongly increased glucose use by fat and muscle cells, through a rise in AMPK activity.
- They say 6-paradol lowered blood glucose, cholesterol and body weight in mice fed a high-fat diet.
- They suggest 6-paradol could be considered an active anti-hyperglycemic component of ginger.
How it was done
Ginger powder has been suggested as a supplement for people with diabetes, but studies in people have given mixed results. The authors say this may be because ginger's active compounds change during drying, storage and cooking, and after being eaten.
They made 10 ginger compounds in the lab and tested each one on mouse fat cells and muscle cells to see how much glucose the cells used. They then gave 6-paradol by mouth to mice fed a high-fat diet for 8 weeks, at 6.75 or 33.75 mg/kg/day, and compared them with mice given pioglitazone or no treatment.
What it can’t tell you
- The cell and mouse results cannot show what happens in people.
- The authors say more studies are needed to check whether stress or the test conditions affected what they saw.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflict of interest.
- Authors work at
- Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan; Ain-Shams University, Egypt; China Medical University, Taiwan
The paper
- Title
- 6-Paradol and 6-Shogaol, the Pungent Compounds of Ginger, Promote Glucose Utilization in Adipocytes and Myotubes, and 6-Paradol Reduces Blood Glucose in High-Fat Diet-Fed Mice
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Wei CK, Tsai YH, Korinek M, et al (2017). 6-Paradol and 6-Shogaol, the Pungent Compounds of Ginger, Promote Glucose Utilization in Adipocytes and Myotubes, and 6-Paradol Reduces Blood Glucose in High-Fat Diet-Fed Mice. International journal of molecular sciences. doi:10.3390/ijms18010168Free full textPubMed 28106738DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error