Well, the main claims about ginsenosides are related to the central nervous system, cardiovascular, immune system, anti-stress, anti-cancer and anti-aging. These are a lot of claims… Let’s start with some conflicting actions. Ginsenosides were found to be strong antioxidants which would explain the anti-aging and the beneficial effects on the immune system, yet they also stimulate the production of nitric oxide in the body, which is a free radical. However, not all free radicals are bad (it also depends on their concentration), for example nitric oxide mediates the communication between nerves, muscles and blood vessels. Generally, the presence of nitric oxide signals the blood vessels to dilate, this would explain why the assumption of Ginseng can increase the blood flow to the brain. This may help increasing mental performances and be beneficial for our cardiovascular system overall. Nitric oxide is also released by the nerves that control erectile function, so here we go with another effect of Ginseng, aphrodisiac. Moreover, the ginsenosides were found to regulate also the GABAergic responses in the brain, countering the effects of stress and anxiety (Kimura et al. 1994; Yuan et al. 1998).

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Regarding the anti-cancer effects, some ginsenosides were found to arrest the cell cycle in melanoma cells (Ota et al. 1997), obviously this does not mean that they have the same effect on all types of cancer but it’s certainly interesting that at least in some cases Ginseng seems to help. An additional argument in support of the anti-cancer activity of Ginseng is the fact that some ginsenosides were shown to increase NK and T cell activity (Kenarova et al. 1990). Well, so far Ginseng seems to have more effects than I’ve expected and it’s not all. Ginsenosides are amphiphilic molecules, which means they can intercalate into the plasma membrane. In fact, they were found to displace the cholesterol from the cell membranes, increasing their fluidity (Pritchard et al. 1991). By modifying the cell membrane dynamics, ginsenosides most likely can also modulate the activity of ion channels and membrane-bound proteins like receptors, eliciting different cell responses. I realize this is a very general statement, but for example some ginsenosides were found to inhibit the influx of calcium ions through some channels or to regulate the influx of sodium ions in nerve cells (Kim, Kim, and Kim 1998). This may decrease the release of catecholamines in the central nerve system, thus having an anti-stress effect (Attele, Wu, and Yuan 1999). After reading all this, it’s not surprising that the Ginseng roots have been used for over 2000 years. They don’t seem to have many adverse effects, in fact someone estimated that to have a lethal dose of Ginseng one would have to take more than two pounds! Considering the how expensive these roots can get, I would say there are definitely cheaper ways to hurt yourselves.

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