Ginger has a strong reputation as an anti-nausea agent but our understanding of the roles played by its important biological constituents (gingerols and shogaols) as antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agents has not been examined in detail. This series of monographs seeks to look first at how and why ginger was used as an ethnomedicine and how this expanded into general antimicrobial studies. One cardinal use for ginger and its constituents may be in the topical management of osteoarthritis. Given the widespread nature of this condition and ginger’s ability to block pain receptors it may join other molecules such as capsaicin in this mode of treatment.