Ginseng

Also called

Asian Ginseng, Chinese Ginseng, Korean Ginseng, Red Ginseng, White Ginseng

Traditional use

These are traditional uses, not proven treatments.

• Asian ginseng has been used as a calming herb in traditional Chinese medicine and as an adaptogen. The root is the part most often used.[3]Health agency

Laboratory & animal research

Lab and animal results show what might be worth studying in people. They don't show that the herb has these effects in humans.

• Many lab and animal studies have found that ginseng and its compounds encourage hair growth.[5]Study

Research in people

• Research in people so far suggests:

  • Thinking: it may improve abstract thinking, attention, arithmetic and reaction time in middle-aged adults, but not in young adults.
  • Tiredness: a 2023 review found it may have a small benefit for general fatigue.
  • Blood sugar: a 2022 review found improvements in fasting blood sugar, total cholesterol and some markers of inflammation in people with prediabetes or diabetes, but overall the research is inconclusive and conflicting.
  • Erectile dysfunction: it seems to improve sexual function.
  • Exercise: most research shows it doesn't improve athletic performance.
  • Flu: early research suggests it may lower the risk of getting the flu, but not how bad it is or how long it lasts.

  [3]Health agency

• A 2016 review of 17 trials with 1,381 people found ginseng had no significant effect on blood pressure, up or down. The authors concluded people don't need to avoid ginseng out of concern that it raises blood pressure, and called for better trials.[6]Review or trial

  Technical detail: randomized controlled trials lasting 4 weeks or more; systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressure; genus Panax.

• A 2021 review combined 28 trials with 2,503 people with the most common type of lung cancer (non-small cell). Adding ginseng or its compounds to chemotherapy was linked to:

  • More tumours shrinking or staying stable
  • Fewer side effects, such as low blood counts, liver damage, nausea and vomiting, and diarrhoea
  • Better quality of life
  • More people alive at 1 and 2 years

  Most of the trials were of low to moderate quality, so stronger trials are needed to confirm this.[7]Review or trial

  Technical detail: objective response rate RR 1.35 (95% CI 1.21 to 1.50); disease control rate RR 1.20 (1.14 to 1.28); leucopenia RR 0.59 (0.50 to 0.70); hepatotoxicity RR 0.67 (0.52 to 0.87); 1-year survival RR 1.35 (1.13 to 1.60); 2-year survival RR 3.21 (1.51 to 6.81); quality of life 1.31 (1.22 to 1.41). Included whole ginseng, ginsenosides and ginseng polysaccharides.

• Blood pressure often drops too low during kidney dialysis. In a 2012 study, 38 people with this problem chewed 3.5 g of Korean red ginseng slices at each dialysis session for 4 weeks. Their blood pressure fell less during dialysis, and they had fewer sessions disrupted by symptoms of low blood pressure. The study compared people with themselves before treatment, without a dummy-treatment group.[8]Study

  Technical detail: intradialytic hypotension; raised endothelin-1 and angiotensin II after dialysis (p < 0.01).

• In a few small human studies, Korean red ginseng increased hair thickness and density. In people with alopecia areata (patchy hair loss), adding it to steroid injections improved hair growth over 12 weeks, and adding it to minoxidil worked better than minoxidil alone.[5]Study

• A 2016 review of 10 placebo-controlled trials in menopausal women found some evidence that ginseng improves sexual function and arousal, and that Korean red ginseng lowers overall hot flash scores. It didn't reduce how often hot flashes happened, or change hormone levels or the lining of the womb. The evidence was low quality.[4]Review or trial