Zingiber officinale Roscoe (ginger) extract alleviates age-induced hepatic lipid profile change in rats during ageing

Lipid metabolism undergoes significant alterations with age, contributing to the onset of age-related diseases. Ginger ( Zingiber officinale Roscoe) is known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, but its effect on hepatic lipid profiles during ageing remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate age-related lipidomic changes in the liver and evaluate the modulatory effects of ginger extract using untargeted lipidomics. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into young (3 months), adult (9 months), and old (21 months) groups. Each age group was further subdivided into control and treatment groups ( n = 10) receiving either distilled water or ginger extract (200 mg/kg/day) via oral gavage for 3 months. Liver function tests (LFTs) and untargeted lipidomic profiling using UHPLC-MS/MS were performed. Statistical analysis included mixed-design ANOVA, oPLS-DA, and pathway enrichment using LION/web. Ageing increased serum albumin (ALB), total protein (TP), globulin (Glo), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and albumin:globulin (A:G) ratio, particularly in adult rats. Lipidomic analysis identified 985 lipid species, with glycerophospholipids (GP), glycerolipids (GL), sphingolipids (SP), and fatty acyls (FA) being most affected by ageing and ginger treatment. Ageing was associated with increased DG in adults, a decline in ceramide (Cer) and sphingomyelins (SM) in old rats, and an age-dependent change in triacylglycerols (TG), which increased in adults but declined in old rats. Phosphatidylcholines (PE) decreased significantly only in old rats. Ginger supplementation increased FA in adults and modulated TG levels in an age-dependent manner, reducing TG in adults while increasing it in young rats. Correlation analysis revealed weak to moderate associations between specific lipids and LFT markers. These findings support the potential of ginger as a natural intervention to preserve liver health and counteract lipid dysregulation during ageing. • Ageing causes substantial changes in various lipid classes like PE, DG, TG, Cer, and SM. • Ginger reversed age-induced alterations in liver biomarkers. • Ginger counteracts the age-induced downregulation of TG and FA in adult rats. • Ginger influenced lipid droplet-localised lipids associated with lipid storage.