Ginger (Zingiber officinale): An effective remedy for electronic cigarettes nicotine toxicity on dorsal tongue filiform and fungiform papillae.

PURPOSE: Nicotine has been linked to several diseases in the oral cavity, especially when used excessively. Zingiber officinale (ginger) has been claimed as an antioxidant that safeguards various organs. The present study was conducted to assess the reaction of tongue papillae to nicotine vapor from electronic cigarettes (E-cigarettes) and to evaluate ginger’s potential protective effects. METHODS: Thirty adult male albino rats were distributed to three groups. Group I: the control group; Group II: rats exposed to approximately 1 ml of E-cigs-derived nicotine vapor, 5 successive days per week, for a total duration of 4 weeks. Group III: For 4 weeks, 12 rats in this group were given daily doses of 100 mg/kg of ginger (using an intra-gastric tube) along with the same amount of nicotine as the previous group. The tongues were prepared for histological and electron microscopic examination following animal sacrifice. RESULTS: The smoking tongue group has conical filiform papillae with a large interpapillary space, papillary degeneration, and hyperkeratization, whereas fungiform papillae have hyperkeratinization, taste bud loss, disrupted basal cells, areas of lost cell orientation, vacuolation, and eccentric nuclei, destroyed epithelium, and poorly defined pores. Ginger group has true conical filiform papillae with a thick keratin coating, connective tissue core, and reticular collagen bundle, while Fungiform papillae showed as detached epithelial cells with thick keratin that was disturbed in certain spots. Scanning electronic examination showed that the lingual surface architecture was mostly repaired in the ginger group, with partially regenerated fungiform papillae that were smaller and more depressed than usual, and filiform papillae that regained their typical conical shape, pointy tips, and backward curvature. CONCLUSION: According to the current preliminary histological experimental study, nicotine caused cellular destructive changes in the papillary tissues of the dorsal tongue, and ginger extract helped to lessen these negative effects mainly in the restoration of filiform papillary structures.