What is "gingerol"

n. (context organic compound English) Any of several isomeric compounds responsible for the heat of ginger

n. derived from ginger; source of the hotness of ginger

Gingerol, properly as [6]-gingerol, is the active constituent of fresh ginger. Chemically, gingerol is a relative of capsaicin and piperine, the compounds which give chilli peppers and black pepper their respective spicyness. It is normally found as a pungent yellow oil, but also can form a low-melting crystalline solid.

Cooking ginger transforms gingerol via a reverse aldol reaction into zingerone, which is less pungent and has a spicy-sweet aroma. When ginger is dried or mildly heated, gingerol undergoes a dehydration reaction forming shogaols, which are about twice as pungent as gingerol. This explains why dried ginger is more pungent than fresh ginger.

Ginger also contains 8-gingerol, 10-gingerol, and 12-gingerol, collectively deemed Gingerols.