Background Gingerol is the generic term for pungent constituents in ginger, which has been reported to be effective for inhibiting vomiting. We attempted to investigate the antiemetic effect of gingerol and its effective mechanism on substance P and NK1 receptors in minks. Methods The antiemetic effect of gingerol was investigated during a 6-hour observation on a vomiting model in minks induced by cisplatin, （7.5 mg/kg, intraperitoneal）. The distribution of substance P and NK1 receptors in the area postrema and ileum were measured by immunohistochemistry, and the expression of NK1 receptor in the area postrema and ileum were measured by Western blotting. Results The frequency of cisplatin induced retching and vomiting was significantly reduced by pretreatment with gingerol in a dose-dependent manner （P 〈0.05）. Substance P-immunoreactive was mainly situated in the mucosa and submucosa of the ileum as well as in the neurons of the area postrema. The immunoreactive production of NK1 receptor was mainly situated in the muscular and submucosa of ileum and the neurons of area postrema, gingerol markedly suppressed the increased immunoreactivity of substance P and NK1 receptor induced by cisplatin in a dose-dependent manner （P 〈0.05）, and exhibited effective inhibition on the increased expression levels of NK1 receptor in both the ileum and area postrema dose-dependently （P 〈0.05）. Conclusions Gingerol has good activity against cisplatin-induced emesis in minks possibly by inhibiting central or peripheral increase of substance P and NK1 receptors.
