According to Chinese herbs.org, ginseng has been used for thousands of years to improve the overall health, enlighten the mind and increase wisdom. In “American Family Physician,” David Keifer, M.D. states the active ingredients of ginseng root are ginseosides, which have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticancer effects. Ginseng may lower blood sugar in type 2 diabetics, improve the effectiveness of antibiotics, enhance the body’s response to flu vaccines and improve learning.
Lower Blood Sugar
According to the Mayo Clinic, ginseng may lower fasting (before meals) blood sugar levels and postprandial (after meals) in patients with type 2 diabetes. A double-blind Finnish study was published in “Diabetes Care,” in 1995, where Dr. E.A. Sotaniemi states 36 newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients showed that taking 200 mg of ginseng for eight weeks had lower fasting blood sugar and more normal glycosylated hemoglobin levels, which measures control of diabetes over several weeks) than those on placebo. However, simultaneous body weight losses confound the interpretation of these results.
Enhance Antibiotics
Ginseng may improve the effectiveness of antibiotics in people with acute bronchitis, and enhance the body’s response to flu vaccines. A study was published in “Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin,” in 2008 on the combination effect of Korean ginseng saponins with kanamycin and cefotaxime against MRSA isolated from an infected patient; Dr. W.S. Sung states there were synergistic or additive effects between the ginsenosides and antibiotics tested.
According to International Health News Database, two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials were conducted during the 2000 to 2001 influenza seasons. The first trial was 8 weeks with 89 nursing home residents; the second was 12 weeks with 109 patients. Approximately 90 percent of all participants received the current flu vaccine. Participants were randomized to receive 2 x 200 mg ginseng or placebo twice daily. The incidence of influenza over the trial period was 7 percent (7 cases/101 subjects) in the placebo group compared to 1 percent (1 case/97 subjects) in the ginseng group, which is a relative risk reduction of 86 percent.
Ginseng’s effects on the human immune system are contingent on botanical and chemical characteristics of those preparations. However, with so few studies published, the effects of these preparations on specific immune parameters (such as individual cytokines or cell functions) remain largely unproven.
Improve Learning
Ginseng may modestly improve thinking or learning. Benefits have been seen both in healthy young people and in older ill patients. A study of single doses of 200, 400 and 600 mg Ginseng in 20 young adult volunteers was published the “Journal Nutritional Neuroscience,” in 2001 in which Dr. D.O. Kennedy states that 400 mg of ginseng resulted in a significant improvement in quality of memory and the associated secondary memory factor at 1, 2.5, 4 and 6 hours after treatment. Ginseng may also help reaction time to both visual and auditory cues, increase concentration and improve hand-eye coordination.
About this Author
Based in New Jersey, John Riefler III has been writing since 1987. His articles have appeared in “MD Magazine,” “Emergency Medicine” and “Hospital Practice.” Riefler holds a Bachelor of Science in biology from Bucknell University, a Master of Science in microbiology from M.U.S.C. and an M.D. from St. George’s U. School of Medicine.
