Unveiling the Species Zingiber mioga in Brazil: Karyotype Analysis and Phytochemical Composition of Leaf and Root Extracts

• Grant number: 24/22418-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2025
• End date: March 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Pharmacology - Ethnopharmacology
• Principal Investigator: Lucinéia dos Santos
• Grantee: Kássia Aiko Asano Miyashiro
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Letras (FCL-ASSIS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Assis. Assis , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Myoga (Zingiber mioga), belonging to the Zingiber genus, is a variety of ginger native to Asia, highly valued due to its challenging cultivation and limited sprout formation throughout the year. Renowned for its traditional use in Asian medicine and culture, Z. mioga stands out for its high content of galanals A and B found in its leaves and rhizomes, which possess notable properties such as anticancer, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, among others. These characteristics highlight its therapeutic potential. However, little is known about the Myoga that has been adapted to Brazil and its phytochemical potential, meaning that studies on this plant are still underexplored in Latin-Brazilian literature. Given this scarcity of scientific information, the aim of this study is to conduct karyotypic analyses for a deeper understanding of this plant, which was adapted from Japan, as well as phytochemical evaluations to reveal its chemical composition. The karyotypic analysis will assess its mitotic chromosomes. In the phytochemical screening, qualitative and quantitative analyses of total phenols, flavonoids, condensed tannins, saponins, and terpenes will be carried out. Thus, the purpose of this project is to understand how a plant from another continent adapted to Brazilian soil and climate, as well as to identify the metabolites present in this plant that could signal a future study on its therapeutic properties.