Quantitative profiling of gingerol and its derivatives in Australian ginger

Gingerols and their shogaol derivatives play an important role in determining the sensory and organoleptic properties of ginger. In this study, 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol, 10-gingerol and 6-shogaol were quantified in 98 samples of dried Australian processing-grade ginger using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A significant level of variation was found in the gingerol and shogaol contents of ginger samples grown under different conditions. The level of variation found in 6-shogaol content was lower than that observed for 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol or 10-gingerol content. It is possible that zeroth-order reaction kinetics under mild dehydration conditions could be responsible for this observation. More detailed information on the kinetics of the gingerol-dehydration reaction could potentially be used to manipulate the gingerol and shogaol contents of ginger through differential heat treatments.