Thai black ginger is an ancient remedy found in southeast Asia, mainly in northern and central Thailand. This is the underground root rhizome of the Kaempferia parviflora plant, which is dried and evaporated then ground into a fine powder. It’s part of the same Zingiberaceae family as regular ginger (which actually has 1600 species), but rather than orange, is greenish on the outside with a fantastical purple core.
There’s no way that Romans or ancient Egyptians would have used this remedy regularly. Sacks of black ginger may have occasionally entered the silk road trade routes or obscure merchant trails, but there were no wagons of the stuff arriving weekly in Rome. However, this remedy has been utilized by local Thai people for at least 1000 years, and most likely longer.
Most of its legendary properties revolve around strength and endurance. For example, Thai black ginger is said to increase your hand grip strength to extreme levels. It’s said by Thai locals to make you a hill-walking phenom. It’s especially popular with the Hmong tribe of northern Thailand, who live in mountainous areas mainly above 1000 metres.
These people wear black clothing made mainly from hemp, and were huge opium farmers from the mid-19th century onwards, until the global heroin scourge forced the Thai government to crack down in the mid-20th century. The Hmong people then turned to rice and corn farming instead, and black ginger is currently their fuel of choice for boosting endurance in the hot, punishing days of labour (as caffeine is hard to come by).
Nowadays, black ginger is popular all over Thailand. The dried powder is used in tea bags, while the fresh rhizome is used to brew an unusual wine. Both are popular as an aphorodiasic and health tonic.
Study directly on acne
Despite its awesome potential, regular ginger has never been tested directly on acne. But the same cannot be said of the Thai black version.
We’re already off to a great start with the velvety purple colour. There’s one subvariety of regular potatoes which have purple inner flesh, and these contain 5 times more anthocyanin antioxidants than usual, despite being the same species. These South American superpotatoes even have a unique ability to reduce stress and depression, which normal potatoes could never claim.
Purple colours in plant foods often indicate extreme nutritional strength (blueberries, blackberries). Stare at Thai black ginger rhizome and it’s like staring at a galaxy with its billions of stars and planets, in its infinite complexity, except this time, they’re endlessly complex plant compounds with epic potential for your skin.
Our study released last year in 2023, and was a focussed experiment testing Thai black ginger exclusively, with no tea tree or aloe vera to distort the results. Rather than a supplement, it tested a topical black ginger cream on 18 human human volunteers, applied daily for 6 weeks.
Their skin was assessed using the globally tested acne severity index (ASI), which is effectively the scientific gold standard. This is a score designed solely to evaluate acne, not including rosacea or hyperpigmentation or anything else.
After 4 weeks, ASI fell by 36.52% in the Thai black ginger group. After 6 weeks, this increased to 52.20%.
Over half the acne on their face was gone, due to rubbing in one obscure purple root dug up in the humid hills of northern Thailand. Meanwhile, the placebo group experienced virtually no change.
The obvious caveat is that the sample size of 9 was tiny. It isn’t enough for us to command every acne patient on earth to rush out and buy some, but it’s enough to keep a very bright spotlight on black ginger from this day forth.
Targets acne directly
Erythema also fell decently, by up to 18.54% after 6 weeks, but by far less than the acne. Erythema is also an inflammatory condition, so the two are linked somewhat, and you’d expect benefits for both. But the fact that pimples, pustules and co were reduced far more dramatically hints that black ginger has benefits specific to acne, rather than just a basic systematic cooling of inflammation.
We have clues about this from the in vitro (petri dish) experiment, where three bacterial strains were tested: s. aureus. s.epidermidis, and p.acnes. 6 different extracts of black ginger were tested, including ethyl acetate, methanol, ethanol, etc. P.acnes was inhibited by all 6 of these extracts, while s.aureus was inhibited by none. S. epidermidis was inhibited only by the ethyl acetate extract. What are those three bacteria?
P.acnes – found in all human skin. Digests fats for energy using lipase enzymes, while churning out inflammatory byproducts. Live in skin pores and summons an immune system assault to swell that pore, creating acne. Some strains are harmless, while others are far more malicious (family 1a).
S. epidermidis – some strains are inflammatory, but s.epidermidis is usually friendlier. It produces peptides such as epidermidin which specifically target and wipe out p.acnes.
S. aureus – the second most inflammatory bacteria on human skin after p.acnes. The same species as the infamous MRSA that contaminates hospital wards. However, s.aureus rarely causes acne itself, preferring to add redness and irritation.
All three are normal members of human skin flora, but Thai black ginger seems to target the main bacteria behind acne specifically, ignoring other strains. Maybe the cell membranes of p.acnes are uniquely sensitive to its 7-methoxyflavone antioxidants, or maybe its cells walls contain molecules which black ginger expertly dissolves. This remedy is not just antibacterial, but antibacterial in a highly focussed manner.
What about when swallowed?
This tantalising study was on a topical cream formulation, but what about as a supplement? After all, that’s Thai black ginger’s main historical usage. There’s no proof for acne, but it’s possible that black ginger could act like a natural antibiotic.
When you pop a pharmaceutical oral antibiotic for acne (which I never recommend!), such as doxycycline, they digest in your stomach acid, absorb through the gut lining, and strike at p.acnes bacteria in your face from the inside out.
It’s kind of impressive how they diffuse into your pores like a stealthy assassin, and don’t even need to be rubbed in, but they’re too damaging for your healthy gut bacteria for us to endorse. Instead, the holy grail would be a natural anti-p.acnes remedy which is similarly ninja-like.
With various plant compounds like honey, they might reduce p.acnes topically, but there’s no proof that they diffuse from the inside-out when swallowed. What if black ginger is that one remedy – the one that circulates your bloodstream, then diffuses through your very skin pores to make your face a truly inhospitable place for the worst kind of bacteria, all with the advantage of ignoring healthy forms of bacteria?
These are just theories, but theories with much supporting evidence. If oral antibiotics can end up in skin pores, there’s no reason why the 7-methoxyflavones in black ginger can’t (that we know of). It all depends on their fragility, bioavailability, and distribution systems within the body.
You never know – black ginger could be the tailor made plant for acne we’ve been searching the globe for. We’ve searched in biblical trees, we’ve lifted up rocks on mountain slopes, we’ve cut leaves from branches of Chinese trees, yet the real secret may have been lurking in a purple rhizome in northern Thailand more traditionally favoured for gaining a crushing hand grip.
Another supplemental power
Next we have a hidden connection which hasn’t quite fused to the outcome of clear skin yet, but is highly promising. Black ginger is renowned as an aphrodisiac by Thai peoples, and is partly why they constantly drink it as wine. With 71.7 million Thai citizens as of 2022, they may have a point.
Science has backed up this traditional usage, as black ginger is proven to follow the same path as pharmaceutical Viagra, just to a more moderate extent. Both inhibit the enzyme PDE5, which breaks down cGMP, followed by nitric oxide. The latter is a potent vasodilating gas, relaxing the blood vessels, and encouraging greater flow of blood.
Black ginger’s NO boost also comes with less side effects, with Viagra’s including back pain, stomach upset and blurred vision. Use this information for own nefarious purposes if you wish, but focusing on skincare, the next chain comes with a rat study, where black ginger encouraged blood flow to the internal organs. Again, this was caused by increased nitric oxide. This shows that the NO boost is consistent across the body…
…and this is great news for your skin. Why? Because the surge of nitric oxide will deliver a surge of blood and a surge of skin-enhancing nutrients. This includes antioxidants, vitamins, phytonutrients etc.
Even higher delivery of oxygen is great for your skin – one study found higher skin oxygenation rates were found to be more attractive by 98% of individuals questioned, when gazing at different photographs. That’s why breathing through your nose rather than mouth can grant you a golden skin tone, as nose breathing increases arterial oxygenation levels by 18%.
Strangely, Thai black ginger seems to block nitric oxide when applied topically, but as a supplement boosts it consistently. Its 7-methoxyflavone compounds are responsible for blocking PDE enzymes, and specifically, 5,7-dimethoxyflavone, which is regarded as Thai black ginger’s main medicinal compound. For example, the acne study above found that in 5 of the 6 extracts, 5,7-dimethoxyflavone was the dominant phytonutrient. 3,5,7,4′-tetramethoxyflavone was the dominant in the 6th extract.
While unproven, Thai black ginger could revitalise and add sparkle to a dead and grimy skin tone (unless you’re a zombie, in which case nothing can save you).
Non-acne consequences
Thai black ginger is also free from any confirmed downsides. A separate study tested an oral dosage of 1.35 grams daily, and found no adverse effects whatsoever. Its cousin ginger is harmless, and while Thai black ginger is a different species, it does show that the family doesn’t have an inherent tendency to cause inflammatory reactions in sensitive people (unlike nightshades). It’s just as harmless topically, as the original acne study found no side effects. There was neither irritation nor burning, nor a sudden flood of oily skin.
There are a few side effects: a crushing hand grip, sexual fever, and the ability to climb a steep hill and leave your companions far behind, if the Hmong people are accurate.
Thai black ginger can even activate brown fat tissue and increase its overall metabolic rate, resulting in weight loss. Boosting exercise performance isn’t just because of boosting nitric oxide, as black ginger seems to enhance mitochondrial energy generation on a cellular level. That study was conducted on mice, and found that just one administration of black ginger extract significantly increased their time to exhaustion during exercise. Their muscles became more efficient at using fuel such as glycogen.
Black ginger is also a popular supplement among elite Muay Thai fighters. If you’re a lefty, then never fear – this 2016 review found that black ginger supplementation increased right hand and left hand grip strength equally. Just bear this in mind next time you’re opening a coke can.
Verdict
For years, the benefits of black ginger progressed logically. There was improved sexual performance, sports performance, energy generation by cells, and hand grip. These powers all seemed connected, but now acne-clearing powers have materialised out of absolutely nowhere.
Admittedly, the sample size of 9 was weak, yet the reduction of over 50% after 6 weeks cannot be ignored. I believe that black ginger has potential both as a topical treatment and supplement, and there’s no risk in trying either.
Though marked officially as “antibacterial”, every remedy has its own subtleties. The advantage of discovering many different natural remedies is that there’s always something else to try when one fails, and therefore there’s never any reason to lose hope. Black ginger may have an undiscovered property which makes it particularly suited for your skin, while honey or grapeseed oil fails.
Thanks for reading!