6-Gingerol, an active pungent component of ginger, inhibits L-type Ca 2+ current, contractility, and Ca 2+ transients in isolated rat ventricular myocytes.

Ginger has been widely used as a flavor, food, and traditional medicine for centuries. 6-Gingerol (6-Gin) is the active components of ginger and offers some beneficial effects on cardiovascular diseases. Here, the effects of 6-Gin on L-type Ca2+ current (ICa-L), contractility, and the Ca2+ transients of rat cardiomyocytes, were investigated via patch-clamp technique and the Ion Optix system. The 6-Gin decreased the ICa-L of normal and ischemic ventricular myocytes by 58.17 +/- 1.05% and 55.22 +/- 1.34%, respectively. 6-Gin decreased ICa-L in a concentration-dependent manner with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 31.25mol/L. At 300mol/L, 6-Gin reduced the cell shortening by 48.87 +/- 5.44% and the transients by 42.5 +/- 9.79%. The results indicate that the molecular mechanisms underlying the cardio-protective effects of 6-Gin may because of a decreasing of intracellular Ca2+ via the inhibition of ICa-L and contractility in rat cardiomyocytes.