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The Orient
Published in Michael J. O’Dowd, The History of Medications for Women, 2020
Ginseng is prescribed to reinforce the vital energy, to increase longevity, and this ‘man plant’ is also used to treat frigidity and impotence (PPRC, 1992). Panax may also be used to treat heavy periods and problems in the puerperium (the Chinese term for the postnatal era is, chan ru, Maciocio, 1998). A number of ginseng preparations are available, including the cultivated and wild varieties, and the sun-dried and red ginseng types. The three main forms available in the West are Asiatic (Panax ginseng), American (Panax quinquefolius) and the Siberian (Eleutherococcus senticosus) and, although similar, they differ in their medicinal properties. Many substitutes and inferior specimens are being sold so the would-be purchaser should buy with caution.
Plant-Based Natural Products Against Huntington’s Disease: Preclinical and Clinical Studies
Published in Megh R. Goyal, Hafiz Ansar Rasul Suleria, Ademola Olabode Ayeleso, T. Jesse Joel, Sujogya Kumar Panda, The Therapeutic Properties of Medicinal Plants, 2019
Banadipa Nanda, Samapika Nandy, Anuradha Mukherjee, Abhijit Dey
Recent reports suggest that herbal extracts and medicines are ahead of the conventional therapies in the prevention of some CNS diseases. For example, Bacopa monnieri or Brahmi extracts was reported effective against ADHD, epilepsy, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) [117, 118, 134] and an array of other neurological diseases. Centella asiatica or Thankuni has proven its therapeutic ability through various in-vivo/in-vitro models against Parkinson’s Disease (PD), learning, and memory deficit and migraine; and its anti-HD potential in 3-NP treated brain mitochondria has been examined in recent studies [114–116]. The Panax ginseng possesses anti-anxiety, anti-depressant, and pro-cognitive properties. A partially purified extract (Rb extract) containing ginsenosides, Rb1, Rb3, and Rd significantly improved 3-NP induced motor-impairment and striatal cell loss [68]. Korean Red ginseng hot-water extract (@50, 100 and 250 mg/kg/day, per os (P. O)) reduces neurological impairment and loss and down-regulates the levels of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 in 3-NP in treated male mice.
Nutraceutical Herbs and Insulin Resistance
Published in Robert E.C. Wildman, Richard S. Bruno, Handbook of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, 2019
Giuseppe Derosa, Pamela Maffioli
The only study that evaluated the effects of Panax quinquefolius on humans involved 84 patients with ischemic coronary artery disease and patients with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), or type 2 diabetes mellitus. Patients were randomized to take Panax quinquefolius for 4 weeks or placebo. After treatment, FPG was lowered more with Panax quinquefolius (25.80 ± 12.72% vs. 20.89 ± 17.12%), but without statistical significance. No changes in HOMA-IR were observed; however, a statistically significant increase in HOMA-β was observed, indicating higher insulin sensitivity, with Panax quinquefolius compared to the control group (from 3.48 ± 0.76 to 4.19 ± 0.79) (p < 0.01). From these preliminary data, therefore, it would appear that the use of Panax quinquefolius can help to improve β-cell function in cardiac patients with dysglycemia.65
Effect of Panax quinquefolius extract on Mycobacterium abscessus biofilm formation
Published in Biofouling, 2023
Zhiqun He, Xinyue Xu, Chuan Wang, Yuqing Li, Baoyu Dong, Shuai Li, Jumei Zeng
The scarce quantity of drugs against M. abscessus urgently needs to be supplemented with new and effective candidates. Panax quinquefolius is one of the most widely used herbs in Traditional Chinese medicine, with a variety of pharmacological activities, such as anti-diabetic effect, anti-obesity, anti-ageing, anti-cancer, neuroprotective, immune-boosting, and anti-pathogenic microbial effects, as preliminarily proven by numerous studies in vitro and in vivo. P. quinquefolius contains a variety of active substances mainly consisting of ginsenosides, polysaccharides, flavonoids, and phenols (Szczuka et al. 2019; Yang et al. 2020). P. quinquefolius has good bioactivity as an anti-fungal, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial (Kachur and Suntres 2016; Kim and Yang 2018; Wang et al. 2020), showing inhibitory effects against the respiratory bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pneumoniae (Song et al. 2010; Iqbal and Rhee 2020; Alsayari et al. 2021). However, only a few studies are available on the antimicrobial activity of P. quinquefolius against bacteria of the genus Mycobacterium. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of P. quinquefolius extract (PQE) against M. abscessus, explore its anti-biofilm formation mechanism, and search for effective active monomers.
The transnational move of interdisciplinarity: Ginseng and the beginning of neuroscience in South Korea, 1970–1990s
Published in Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, 2022
Studies on herbs—particularly ginseng—received much attention from the government in the 1970s, as herbs had become promising candidates for export. Under the authoritarian regime of Chung-Hee Park (1963–1979), increasing exports was touted as “the only way for Korea to survive” (Kim 2017; Lee et al. 2005; The Editorial Board 1997). The government was committed to finding and “exporting whatever [we] can sell” (Park 2014). Textiles, wigs, and plywood were the most popular exports in the 1960s. The government celebrated the increase of export from U.S. $25 million in 1956 to U.S. $100 million in 1964, designating November 30 of that year as the First Memorial Day of Export. In this milieu, from the mid-1960s, ginseng was spotlighted as an important export item to be developed. There were several types of ginseng: for example, American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), South China ginseng (Panax notoginseng), and Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng), depending on cultivation areas. It was therefore important for South Korea to differentiate its ginseng from others and to promote Korean ginseng’s distinctive effects and strengths (Park et al. 2014, 126). To this end, the government invested in various research projects to increase the competitiveness of Korean ginseng as an export.
Integrative Management of Pancreatic Cancer (PDAC): Emerging Complementary Agents and Modalities
Published in Nutrition and Cancer, 2022
Mustafa B. A. Djamgoz, Valerie Jentzsch
Panax ginseng (“ginseng”) is a perennial plant that grows in East Asia. It is a traditional medicinal herb with a unique family of active saponin ingredients called “ginsenosides”. It is available in various forms (e.g., fresh, white, steamed, acid-processed and fermented) leading to a range ginsenoside compositions with diverse pharmacological properties (160). Yun & Choi found in an early case-control study concluded ginseng consumption would reduce the risk of PDAC and liver cancer (161, 162). Experimentally, extracts of ginseng (leaves, flowers and roots) and some nanoparticle preparations have been tested against various human PDAC cell lines and shown to inhibit cell viability, proliferation and angiogenesis whilst promoting apoptosis (e.g., Refs. 163–165). Some anti-PDAC effects have also been reported in vivo (166, 167). Furthermore, ginseng could delay the development of type 1 diabetes and pancreatitis, both PDAC risk factors, in rats (168, 169). Finally, ginseng has also been reported to enhance the effectiveness of in vitro gemcitabine (and some other chemotherapeutic agents) on PDAC cells as well as liver, lung and prostate cancers (170–172).