傳言生薑真的能治療哮喘病嗎
The Ache: Some 26 million Americans suffer from asthma -- a chronic inflammation of airways in the lungs that causes coughing, chest tightness, wheezing and shortness of breath, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
病痛：美國過敏、哮喘與免疫學院(American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology)發佈的數據顯示，大約有2,600萬美國人患有哮喘。這是肺部呼吸道的一種慢性炎症，能引發咳嗽、胸部壓迫感、氣喘、以及呼吸急促等病症。
Since you can still have an asthma attack despite regular medications, many patients try alternative treatments -- but there is little evidence they work, clinicians say.
即便接受常規治療，哮喘仍然會發作，因此許多患者都在嘗試另類療法。但臨牀醫生指出，目前還幾乎沒有證據表明這些療法有效。
The Claim: Ginger, a root known for its strong, earthy flavor, can help ease symptoms of asthma by opening constricted airways.
主張：生薑這種有強烈、質 氣味的植物根莖能夠使原本收縮的呼吸道通暢，從而有助緩解哮喘症狀。
The Verdict: Ginger, well known as a therapy for an upset stomach, is recently getting attention among scientists for what appears to be its capacity to open constricted airways -- demonstrated in several recent studies, in animals and in human cells tested in a lab.
定論：生薑用於治療胃部不適的功效廣爲人知，最近它又引起了科學家的關注，因爲近期針對動物和人體細胞的幾項實驗室研究顯示，生薑似乎能夠使收縮的呼吸道更加通暢。
Human tests, however, are needed to show efficacy, says American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology President Michael Foggs. If ginger does prove useful, he adds, it most likely would be taken with existing medicines that control the underlying airway inflammation.
但美國過敏、哮喘與免疫學院院長Michael Foggs表示，上述功效仍需要通過人體實驗的驗證。他補充說，如果生薑被證實的確有效，就很可能被用來與控制潛在呼吸道炎症的現有藥物同時使用。
Ginger can be ingested as a fresh root or in capsules as a dietary supplement. In traditional Chinese medicine, it would typically be consumed as a tea -- generally with up to a dozen other herbs -- as a treatment for certain types of asthma-like symptoms, says Allen Sayigh, manager of the Chinese herb dispensary at Bastyr University in Seattle.
生薑既可以新鮮根莖的形式攝入，也能以作爲食物補充劑的膠囊形式攝入。西雅圖美國巴斯帝爾大學(Bastyr University)中藥部經理Allen Sayigh說，在傳統的中藥中，生薑通常是作爲一種茶飲――往往與十餘種其他草藥同時使用――用於治療某些類似哮喘的症狀。
Recent research has found ginger works by simultaneously inhibiting an enzyme that helps cause airway muscles to constrict and activating another enzyme that tends to relax the airways, says biomedical engineer Elizabeth Townsend, co-author of a study published online in the January issue of the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology.
生物醫學工程師湯森(Elizabeth Townsend)說，最近的研究發現，生薑可以抑制一種導致呼吸道肌肉收縮的?，同時激活另一種會使呼吸道放鬆的?，從而發揮療效。湯森合着的一項研究被刊登在《美國呼吸道細胞和分子生物學期刊》(American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology) 1月份網絡刊上。
The study, which tested the effects of ginger components on isolated human airway cells, found ginger worked particularly well in combination with a medication currently used in bronchodilators asthmatics carry in case they have trouble breathing.
這項研究測試了生薑成分對單獨的人體呼吸道細胞的影響，發現當生薑與另外一種現有藥物同時使用時效果尤其顯著。上述現有藥物被用於哮喘患者呼吸困難時使用的支氣管擴張劑中。In rodents, several studies found injections of ginger extracts helped ease simulated asthma conditions. A French study, published in 2008 in the journal International Immunopharmacology, found a ginger extract softened an inflammatory reaction in mouse lungs after the mice were exposed to allergens that irritated their lungs.
針對齧齒類動物的幾項研究發現，注射生薑提取物有助於緩解類哮喘症狀。《國際免疫藥理學》(International Immunopharmacology)期刊2008年發表的一項法國研究發現，對於暴露在過敏原中、肺部受到刺激的老鼠，生薑提取物可以緩解老鼠肺部的炎症反應。
Richard J. Martin, professor and chairman of the department of medicine at National Jewish Health, a hospital in Denver, called the human-cell and rodent lab results 'promising' but added that ginger 'may have absolutely no effect' on humans.
位於丹佛的美國猶太健康醫院(National Jewish Health)藥物部門教授和負責人馬丁(Richard J. Martin)稱，人體細胞和齧齒類動物實驗結果讓人看到了希望，但他補充說，生薑可能對人類沒有任何效果。
It won't hurt to try ginger, says Maureen George, assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in Philadelphia and author of a review article on complementary therapies for asthma. 'Even if we don't have definite evidence that it is going to promote bronchial smooth muscle relaxation,' it is generally safe, she says.
位於費城的賓夕法尼亞大學(University of Pennsylvania)護理學院(School of Nursing)助理教授喬治(Maureen George)說，嘗試一下生薑沒有壞處。她說，即使沒有確切證據表明生薑有助於促進支氣管平滑肌放鬆，但它基本是安全的。喬治是一篇有關於哮喘輔助療法評論文章的作者。
She cautions that, since ginger grows in the ground and can be contaminated by pesticides, it is a good idea to look for organic fresh root.
她警告說，由於生薑生長在地下，可能會被農藥污染，因此尋找有機新鮮生薑可能是個好主意。
