Panax Ginseng

Could it help when you feel worn out?

NCCIH’s summary of a 2023 review covering 19 studies and 2,413 participants describes a possible small benefit of Asian ginseng alone for general fatigue. Results were not consistent across the research. Benefits reported for some multi-herb formulas in chronic fatigue cannot be attributed to ginseng alone. 1 2

The overall pooled fatigue result in that review was not statistically significant; the encouraging general-fatigue finding came from a subgroup. 2

Will it improve focus or reduce stress?

Small studies suggest possible improvements in certain thinking tasks in middle-aged adults, with no comparable benefit established in young adults. Memory findings described by NCCIH appeared to depend on adding ginkgo. Those combinations cannot tell us what ginseng alone does. 1

Stress and anxiety remain research interests. The adaptogen hypothesis is relevant to those questions, but NCCIH finds too little reliable information to establish an anxiety benefit. 1

Does it help immunity or sports performance?

Very limited preliminary research suggests fewer cases of flu with Asian-ginseng extract, without shorter or milder illness. That signal concerns infection risk, not a broad improvement in immunity. Most research summarized by NCCIH finds no improvement in athletic performance. 1

What do the metabolic studies show?

A review of Panax ginseng and Korean red ginseng included 23 papers with doses from 200 mg to 8 g daily over four to 24 weeks. Participants ranged from healthy adults to people with metabolic disorders. Several glucose, blood-pressure and lipid measures improved, but this broad range of products and populations does not define one reliable treatment dose. 3

Are berry extracts more effective?

A 12-week trial randomized 72 people with elevated fasting glucose; 63 completed it. The berry extract did not significantly improve glucose or lipid measures in the full study population. A subgroup with higher starting glucose had improvements, a useful lead for further research rather than proof that the extract works broadly. 4

Can it help erectile function?

A Cochrane review included nine trials and 587 men with mild to moderate erectile dysfunction, followed for no more than 12 weeks. Improvements on validated erectile-function scales were smaller than the reviewers’ thresholds for a meaningful change. Some men reported improved ability to have intercourse, but certainty was low and no trials compared ginseng with established erectile-dysfunction drugs. 5