Red ginseng extract might help cure and prevent influenza and respiratory problems, a latest study shows.
In this study, researchers found that an extract found in red ginseng can treat syncytial virus (RSV), a virus that affects the lungs and breathing passageways.
The research team led by scientist Sang-Moo Kang from the Georgia State University's new Institute for Biomedical Sciences, examined the effects of red ginseng extract on the influenza A virus infection. The test was conducted on mice models.
Initially, the scientists infected mice with the flu virus and treated them with the ginseng extract that was given to them orally over a long period of time. The researchers found that that the ginseng-treated mice showed enhanced immunity. For instance, the mice had stimulated antiviral production of proteins important in immune response and fewer inflammatory cells in their bronchial walls.
Kang and the team also found that the extract effectively increased the survival rates of human lung epithelial cells that were infected with the influenza A virus. In order to arrive at this observation, the researchers examined the effects of using red ginseng extract in treating RSV infection. They found that the extract stopped the virus from developing within the body.
The results were similar to those found on the influenza virus. The mice treated with ginseng extract also had lower viral levels after they were infected with RSV.
Kang, who studies different ways of developing vaccines to protect against viral diseases such as influenza and RSV, said he plans on conducting more research on the effects of taking ginseng. The study was published in Nutrients.
