Effect of ginger & garlic on DNA content of gastric aspirate.

DNA content of gastric aspirates was studied before and after intragastric infusions of three doses of ginger (2, 4, 6 g) and four doses of garlic (0.3, 0.75, 1.5, 3 g) on different days in volunteers. Only one dose was administered on any day. The mean changes of DNA-p/min in gastric aspirates after intragastric infusions of 2 and 4 g ginger were -1.37 +/- 2.3 and 6.74 +/- 3.06 respectively, which were not significant statistically. However, 6 g ginger given intragastrically showed a mean significant increase in DNA-p/min of 3.23 +/- 1.02 (P less than 0.05). Intragastric infusion of 0.3 g uncooked garlic showed a non-significant increase in DNA-p/min of 0.307 +/- 0.59. On the other hand, infusion of 0.75, 1.5 and 3 g of uncooked garlic each caused significant increase in DNA-p/min of 5.47 +/- 1.63 (P less than 0.01), 10.42 +/- 3.46 (P less than 0.01) and 29.26 +/- 4.55 (P less than 0.001) respectively. Infusion of 3 g of cooked garlic also showed significant increase in DNA-p/min of 21.43 +/- 4.62 (P less than 0.001). There was no significant difference between the effect of cooked and uncooked (3 g) garlic. Ginger in quantities of 6 g or more and garlic in quantities of 0.75 g or more cause a significant increase in exfoliation of gastric surface epithelial cells in human subjects.