A review of the health promoting effects of red ginseng intake. - GreenMedInfo Summary

Objectives: Although red ginseng is one of the bestselling herbal medicines, little studies have evaluated and summarized the effects of red ginseng intake on human health using a systematic review.

Methods: We systematically searched for epidemiological studies from 1997 to 2018 regarding red ginseng intake and health in the PubMed, DBPIA, and EMBASE databases. A total of 41 related studies were qualitatively reviewed under the four functionalities of red ginseng: immunity enhancement, prevention of metabolic syndrome and diabetes, blood circulation and prevention of hypertension, and menopausal symptom relief.

Results: We identified thirteen studies for immunity enhancement, ten prevention of metabolic syndrome and diabetes (reduced postprandial blood glucose levels), nine for blood circulation and prevention of hypertension, and five for menopausal symptom relief. Functional effects of red ginseng may be related to antioxidant effects via fermentation, although some studies have reported inconsistent effects such as insulin sensitivity.

Conclusions: Red ginseng may have potential health promoting effects based on this systematic review. Further meta-analysis study is needed to identify and evaluate whether these potential effects of red ginseng exist.

Funding Sources: This study was supported by the Korea Ginseng Corp.