Zingiber officinale: uma breve revisão das propriedades botânicas, fitoquímicas e farmacológicas aplicadas à odontologia.

Abstract

Phytotherapy, understood as the use of medicinal plants in different pharmaceutical forms, has been practiced for millennia and is still a relevant practice today. In the dental area, the use of medicinal plants was regulated by the Federal Council of Dentistry in 2008, but it still faces challenges related to the lack of knowledge and training of professionals. Based on this, a literature review addressing the botanical, phytochemical and pharmacological properties of medicinal plant species applied to dentistry, such as Zingiber officinale, becomes highly relevant. The study is a literature review of the narrative type, which gathered the available scientific knowledge about the association of ginger in dentistry from the databases of the platforms: Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD), Scientific Electronic Library Online (Scielo), Google Scholar and PUBMED. Inclusion criteria were studies in Portuguese, published between 2013 and 2023, that brought relevant information about the therapeutic use of Zingiber officinale in dentistry, as well as information about the Zingiberaceae family, to which the species belongs. It is concluded that the plant species Zingiber officinale has proven efficacy as an antibacterial agent in addition to having antibiotic and anti-inflammatory action, thus being a therapeutic alternative in dentistry.