People's Pharmacy

For more up-to-date information on drugs, herbs and home remedies visit The People's Pharmacy Home Site at peoplespharmacy.us

Ginseng

Posting Date: 09/04/2002

A number of other studies have also found that ginseng increased aerobic capacity, reduced lactate levels in the blood, and lowered heart rate during exercise. Many of these studies, however, did not include placebo controls.

Animal studies demonstrate that ginseng extracts can have a protective effect when used to pretreat small mammals undergoing radiation.

Italian pharmacologists have found that pretreatment with a standard ginseng extract (G115) significantly improved immune response to vaccination against influenza compared to placebo pretreatment.

Some glycosides found in red ginseng appear to act as antioxidants. This property might be the foundation for the anticancer effect seen in one study of mice exposed to cancer-causing chemicals.

Those who were given extract of six-year-old red ginseng in their drinking water developed significantly fewer lung tumors after injection with benzo(a)pyrene, a strong carcinogen. Fresh four-year-old ginseng was not protective.

An epidemiological study in Korea suggested that people who use ginseng regularly may be less likely to come down with cancer, but further studies are needed.

Ginseng is reported to lower cholesterol, presumably by accelerating its metabolism and removal from the body. Studies in chickens indicate that low-density lipoprotein (sometimes termed "bad cholesterol") is especially affected.

Ginsenoside Rg2 can keep blood platelets from aggregating, and ginsenoside Ro prevents fibrinogen from being converted to fibrin, an important clotting factor.

At least one active ginseng component inhibits thromboxane and thus might contribute to an anticoagulant effect.

In animals, extracts of Korean red ginseng have helped to control diabetes. One double-blind Finnish study considered the effects of ginseng extract on newly diagnosed human diabetics (non-insulin-dependent).