Panax ginseng helps keep blood pressure, glucose, lipids low

Supplements of Panax ginseng may help prevent metabolic diseases from developing by controlling blood pressure, as well as blood levels of glucose and lipids, reports a recent meta-analysis.

Twenty-three studies, contributing 27 data sets, were retrieved from the online databases of PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. All studies were randomized controlled trials, 20 of which employed a parallel design while three were crossovers.

Pooled analyses revealed that the areas under the curve (AUC) for glucose and insulin were significantly decreased after P. ginseng supplementation, with reduction values of 1.77 mmol/L·hr (95 percent confidence interval [CI], –2.97 to –0.57; p=0.0004) and 101.11 pmol/L·hr (95 percent CI, –160.85 to –41.38; p=0.0009), respectively.

No such changes were reported for other glucose-related markers, such as fasting glucose, fasting insulin, 2-hour postprandial glucose, and glycated haemoglobin.

P. ginseng supplementation likewise led to a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure by 3.23 mm Hg (95 percent CI, –4.19 to –2.27; p<0.00001), percent body fat by 2.11 percent (95 percent CI, –3.98 to –0.23; p=0.03), total cholesterol by 0.17 mmol/L (95 percent CI, –0.28 to –0.05; p=0.005), triglyceride by 0.11 mmol/L (95 percent CI, –0.21 to –0.01; p=0.03), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol by 0.24 mmol/L (95 percent Ci, –0.36 to –0.13; p<0.0001).

“Through this study, P. ginseng supplementation has established an academic basis that it can be used as adjuvant therapy for diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidaemia.”