Root ginger could be prescribed to combat ovarian cancer, scientists have claimed.

Laboratory studies in the US have shown powdered root ginger could be an effective alternative to chemotherapy in treating ovarian cancer.

When additive-free ginger was applied to ovarian cancer cells, it effectively stopped growth in two ways: by causing cells to kill themselves, in a process known as apoptosis, and self-consume, known as autophagy.

The researchers are enthusiastic the two-level attack could prove even more efficient than platinum-based chemotherapy which works on resistance to apoptosis.

Rebecca Liu, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Michigan medical school said ginger could be useful for ovarian cancer patients who develop secondary outbreaks of cancer, which are often resistant to chemotherapy.

“If ginger can cause autophagic cell death in addition to apoptosis, it may circumvent resistance to conventional chemotherapy,” she claimed.

As an affective antidote to nausea, ginger is being offered to combat this prevalent side effect of chemotherapy but the research team has emphasised that its use for ovarian cancer is still in early trial stages.

Henry Scowcroft of Cancer Research UK has called for a cautionary approach to the findings.

“This doesn’t mean that people should dash down to the supermarket and stockpile ginger,” he said.

“We still don’t know whether ginger, in any form, can prevent or treat cancers in animals or people. And there is always the possibility that eating lots of ginger or taking ginger supplements might interfere with chemotherapy or be harmful to health.”

Stowcroft admitted after previous research a drug made from a chemical found in ginger could be feasible but said much more work was needed before firm conclusions could be drawn.