Asian peoples have used the ginseng root empirically as a health tonic for thousands of years. In recent decades, scientific studies have demonstrated that ginseng and its components have several pharmacological activities. Cell culture and animal studies have demonstrated effects of ginseng which may be of value in cancer prevention. The study reported here examined the relationship between the use of ginseng and the risk of cancer in a human population. It is an extension of an earlier, smaller epidemiological study.
The case-control study was conducted at Korea Cancer Center Hospital in Seoul, where 1,987 patients admitted for the treatment of various cancers and 1,987 controls treated for non-cancerous diseases were interviewed about their use of various types of ginseng . Users of ginseng had a significantly lower risk of cancer than non-users (odds ratio 0.50 [95% CI 0.44-0.58]). Risk began to decrease with one year of ginseng use and declined progressively over 20 years of use.
Most types of ginseng products, including fresh ginseng extract, white ginseng extract, white ginseng powder, and red ginseng , were associated with significant reductions in cancer risk, but fresh ginseng slice, fresh ginseng juice, and white ginseng tea were not. Analysis of data by cancer site showed significant effects for cancers of the lip/oral cavity/pharynx, esophagus, stomach, colo-rectum, liver, pancreas, larynx, lung, and ovary, but not for cancers of the female breast, uterine cervix, urinary bladder, or thyroid.
These findings support other lines of evidence indicating that ginseng may have a chemopreventive effect against cancer. Further studies are needed to confirm this effect and to identify the active components and mechanism of action of ginseng .
- SOURCE : Nutrition Research Newsletter
(adapted from Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, June 1995)1995.07.17
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